Sample records for encke meteor metallic

Application of the theoretical results of the author are presented for the case of meteor streams of comet Encke. Theoretical determination of meteor orbit for comet Encke, as a parent body, is presented. Four significant theoretical meteor streams, corresponding to Tauds N, Tauds S, $\\beta$ Tauds and $\\xi$ Perds are found. The meteor stream membership criterion is applied to the photographic orbits of The IAU Meteor Data Center in Lund: Taurid meteor stream is found for several possible area...

A newly developed laboratory, Meteoric Ablation Simulator (MASI), is used to test model predictions of the atmospheric ablation of interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) with experimental Na, Fe, and Ca vaporization profiles. MASI is the first laboratory setup capable of performing time-resolved atmospheric ablation simulations, by means of precision resistive heating and atomic laser-induced fluorescence detection. Experiments using meteoritic IDP analogues show that at least three mineral phases (Na-rich plagioclase, metal sulfide, and Mg-rich silicate) are required to explain the observed appearance temperatures of the vaporized elements. Low melting temperatures of Na-rich plagioclase and metal sulfide, compared to silicate grains, preclude equilibration of all the elemental constituents in a single melt. The phase-change process of distinct mineral components determines the way in which Na and Fe evaporate. Ca evaporation is dependent on particle size and on the initial composition of the molten silicate. Measured vaporized fractions of Na, Fe, and Ca as a function of particle size and speed confirm differential ablation (i.e., the most volatile elements such as Na ablate first, followed by the main constituents Fe, Mg, and Si, and finally the most refractory elements such as Ca). The Chemical Ablation Model (CABMOD) provides a reasonable approximation to this effect based on chemical fractionation of a molten silicate in thermodynamic equilibrium, even though the compositional and geometric description of IDPs is simplistic. Improvements in the model are required in order to better reproduce the specific shape of the elemental ablation profiles.

Meteor Crater, Arizona provides an opportunity to study, in detail, elemental fractionation processes occurring during impacts through the study of target rocks, meteorite projectile and several types of impact products. We have performed EMPA and INAA on target rocks, two types of impact glass and metallic spherules from Meteor Crater. Using literature data for the well studied Canyon Diablo iron we can show that different siderophite element fractionations affected the impact glasses than affected the metallic spherules. The impact glasses primarily lost Au, while the metallic spherules lost Fe relative to other siderophile elements.

Interplanetary dust particles sporadically enter planetary atmospheres at orbital velocities and ablate as collisions occur with ambient gases to produce a persistent layer of metallic atoms (for example, Fe, Mg, Na) in their upper atmospheres. Such layers are well studied at Earth, but have not been directly detected elsewhere in the Solar System. Here we report the detection of a meteoric layer consisting of Mg+ ions near an altitude of 90 km in the Martian atmosphere from ultraviolet remote sensing observations by NASA's MAVEN spacecraft. We observe temporal variability in the Mg+ layer over the course of a Martian year, moving up and down in altitude seasonally and in response to dust storms, and displaying diurnal fluctuations in density. We also find that most meteor showers do not significantly perturb this layer, which constrains the fluence of eleven observed Martian meteor showers to less than our estimated global dust flux. The persistence and variability of the Mg+ layer are difficult to explain with existing models and reconcile with other transient layers of ions observed in the Martian ionosphere. We suggest that the transient layers are not sourced from the persistent Mg+ layer and thus not derived from meteoric material, but are ambient ions produced by some unknown mechanism.

Described are the history, formation, and observing techniques of meteors and comets. Provided are several pictures, diagrams, meteor organizations and publications, and meteor shower observation tables. (YP)

The uptake and potential reactivity of metal atoms on water ice can be an important process in planetary atmospheres and on icy bodies in the interplanetary and interstellar medium. For instance, metal atom uptake affects the gas-phase chemistry of the Earth's mesosphere, and has been proposed to influence the agglomeration of matter into planets in protoplanetary disks. In this study the fate of Mg and K atoms incorporated into water-ice films, prepared under ultra-high vacuum conditions at temperatures of 110-140 K, was investigated. Temperature-programmed desorption experiments reveal that Mg- and K-containing species do not co-desorb when the ice sublimates, demonstrating that uptake on ice particles causes irreversible removal of the metals from the gas phase. This implies that uptake on ice particles in terrestrial polar mesospheric clouds accelerates the formation of large meteoric smoke particles (≥1 nm radius above 80 km) following sublimation of the ice. Energetic sputtering of metal-dosed ice layers by 500 eV Ar+ and Kr+ ions shows that whereas K reacts on (or within) the ice surface to form KOH, adsorbed Mg atoms are chemically inert. These experimental results are consistent with electronic structure calculations of the metals bound to an ice surface, where theoretical adsorption energies on ice are calculated to be -68 kJ mol-1 for K, -91 kJ mol-1 for Mg, and -306 kJ mol-1 for Fe. K can also insert into a surface H2O to produce KOH and a dangling H atom, in a reaction that is slightly exothermic.

Slow meteors are studied with video observations and spectroscopy. A comparison of their orbits and spectra points to a common origin. Although they do not belong to some meteor stream, they deserve to be studied in more detail. The present paper tries to make a first attempt to characterize the common properties of this class of meteors.

We describe a case of a 65-year old man diagnosed with retinal vasoproliferative tumour secondary to posterior uveitis. The fluorescein angiography shows an interesting meteor-like leak emanating from the tumour and rising towards the superior retina in the later frames of the angiogram. Pictorially, we call it the "Retinal Meteor" and also describe the possible mechanism for this pattern of leakage.

The state vector prediction algorithm selected for Orion on-board targeting and guidance is known as the Encke-Beta method. Encke-Beta uses a universal anomaly (beta) as the independent variable, valid for circular, elliptical, parabolic, and hyperbolic orbits. The variable, related to the change in eccentric anomaly, results in integration steps that cover smaller arcs of the trajectory at or near perigee, when velocity is higher. Some burns in the EM-1 and EM-2 mission plans are much longer than burns executed with the Apollo and Space Shuttle vehicles. Burn length, as well as hyperbolic trajectories, has driven the use of the Encke-Beta numerical predictor by the predictor/corrector guidance algorithm in place of legacy analytic thrust and gravity integrals.

An arc-heated wind tunnel is widely used for ground-based experiments to simulate environments of the planetary atmospheric entry under hypersonic and high-temperature conditions. In order to understand details of a meteor ablation such as temperature, composition ratio and fragmentation processes, the artificial meteor test was carried out using a JAXA/ISAS arc-heated wind tunnel. High-heating rate around 30 MW/m2 and High-enthalpy conditions, 10000 K arc-heated flow at velocity around 6 km/s were provided. Newly developed artificial metallic meteoroids and real meteorites such as Chelyabinsk were used for the ablation test. The data obtained by near-ultraviolet and visible spectrograph (200 and 1100nm) and high-speed camera (50 μs) have been examined to develop more efficient artificial meteor materials. We will test artificial meteors from a small satellite in 2018.

We present a discussion linking ideas from a modern music album by Laura Veirs back to a turbulent time in American history 150 years ago, which inspired poet Walt Whitman to compose his poem "Year of Meteors", and the meteor beliefs of the period around 1859-1860, when collection of facts was giving way to analyses and theoretical explanations in meteor science.

Introduces the Meteor Scatter Project (MSP) in which high school students build an automated meteor observatory and learn to monitor meteor activity. Involves students in activities such as radio frequency survey, antenna design, antenna construction, manual meteor counts, and computer board configuration and installation. (YDS)

The Kyoto Meteor Radar is a monostatic coherent pulsed Doppler radar operating on the frequency of 31.57 MH. The system is computer controlled and uses radio interferometry for echo height determination. The antenna, an improvement, can be directed either to the north or the east. The system has been continuously collecting data on winds at meteor heights by radar observation. The meteor echo rate was also measured, the echo rate distribution with height and the daily variation in height integrated echo rate are discussed. Investigations of atmospheric tides are being pursued by cooperative observations. A novel approach to the study of gravity waves was attempted using the meteor radar which is able to detect the horizontal propagation of the waves by observing the changing phase through the region illuminated by the radar

Meteor radiation appears as a result of collisions between meteoroid atoms and air molecules. Depending on duration, this radiation is usually divided into the following types: radiation of the meteor head; radiation of a coma surrounding or immediately following the meteor head; radiation of a trail formed as a result of fragments lagging behind or by the afterglow; and radiation of a meteor train forming from a tail as a result of various chemical and dynamical processes. To investigate physical processes caused by each of the above types, it is necessary to obtain the corresponding experimental data. The physical processes of the radiation and the measurement of the experimental data is discussed

The requirements of a state of the art meteor wind radar, and acceptable comprises in the interests of economy, are detailed. Design consideration of some existing and proposed radars are discussed. The need for international cooperation in mesopause level wind measurement, such as that being fostered by the MAP GLOBMET (Global Meteor Observations System) project, is emphasized.

Extraterrestrial material is the source of metal ions in the Earth's atmosphere, Each year approx. 10(exp 8) kg of material is intercepted by the Earth. The origin of this material is predominantly solar orbiting interplanetary debris from comets or asteroids that crosses the Earth's orbit. It contains a very small amount of interstellar material. On occasion the Earth passes through enhanced amounts of debris associated with the orbit of a decaying comet. This leads to enhanced meteor shower displays for up to several days. The number flux of shower material is typically several times the average sporadic background influx of material. Meteoric material is some of the earliest material formed in the solar system. By studying the relative elemental abundances of atmospheric metal ions, information can be gained on the chemical composition of cometary debris and the chemical makeup of the early solar system. Using in situ sampling with rocket-borne ion mass spectrometers; there have been approximately 50 flights that made measurements of the metal ion abundances at attitudes between 80 and 130 km. It is this altitude range where incoming meteoric particles am ablated, the larger ones giving rise to visible meteor. displays. In several rocket measurements isotopic ratios of different atomic ion mass components and metal molecular ion concentrations have been determined and used to identify unambiguously the measured species and to investigate the processes controlling the metal ion distributions The composition of the Earth's ionosphere was first sampled by an ion mass spectrometer flown an a rocket in 1956. In 1958 a rocket-borne ion spectrometer identified, fbr the first time, a layer of metal ions near 95 km. These data were interpreted as evidence of an extraterrestrial rather than a terrestrial source. Istomin predicted: "It seems probable that with some improvement in the method that analysis of the ion composition in the E-region may be used for determining

Radio meteor detection networks could improve knowledge about meteors under daylight or inconvenient weather conditions. We present novel approach to the meteor detection system. Hardware described in this poster has unique features for time synchronization of multiple nodes, therefore meteor trajectory calculation is possible in case of appropriate network deployment.

The overwhelming majority of meteor streams are generally assumed to be formed due to the decay of comets. The most effective process of the release of solid particles from a cometary nucleus is their ejection by sublimating gases when the comet approaches the Sun. The results of investigation of the Geminids and Quadrantids meteor stream evolution show that under the influence of planetary perturbations, the stream may originally be flat but then thicken depending on the variation range of orbital inclinations. Eventually, due to planetary perturbations, a meteor stream may take such a shape as to cause the start of several active showers at different solar longitudes

The original reports of sky glows during spectacular meteor showers in the nineteenth century leave some doubt whether the observers might not simply have been over-enthusiastic. The nightglow photometric data available for the sole spectacular shower so far in the twentieth century are against there being any noticeable atmospheric effects resulting from the deposition of the meteoric material; calculations confirm previously published conclusions that sunlight scattered from the meteor stream might be visible near the radiant or the anti-radiant but, with the sole exception of one observer of the 1833 Leonids, no reports have been made of such an area of light. (author)

Spectral observations of meteors have been carried out for several years using an optical electronics facility. Interest has centered on faint meteors and their trails in the period of intensive meteor showers. Over 800 meteors were registered during the observation period, with spectrograms obtained for 170 of these. A total of 86 meteors were photographed from two sites and for 25 of these spectrograms of the meteors as well as their trails were obtained. All meteors have undergone routine processing in order to determine atmospheric characteristics. Results are discussed

Meteoric 10Be to stable 9Be ratios combine a cosmogenic nuclide produced in the atmosphere at a rate known from reconstructions of magnetic field strength with a stable isotope that records the present and past continental weathering and erosion flux. In seawater, the 10Be/9Be ratio provides important information on metal release from bottom sediments, called boundary exchange, and the oceanic mixing of reactive trace metals due to the inherently different sources of the two isotopes. When measured in the authigenic phase of marine sediments, the 10Be/9Be ratio allows deriving the feedbacks between erosion, weathering, and climate in the geologic past. At an ocean margin site 37°S offshore Chile, we use the 10Be/9Be ratio to trace changes in terrestrial particulate composition due to exchange with seawater. We analyzed the reactive (sequentially extracted) phase of marine surface sediments along a coast-perpendicular transect, and compared to samples from their riverine source. We find evidence for growth of authigenic rims through co-precipitation, not via reversible adsorption, that incorporate an open ocean 10Be/9Be signature from a deep water source only 30 km from the coast, thereby overprinting terrestrial riverine 10Be/9Be signatures. We show that the measured 10Be/9Be ratios in marine sediments comprise a mixture between seawater-derived and riverine-sourced phases. As 10Be/9Be ratios increase due to exchange with seawater, particulate-bound Fe concentrations increase, which we attribute to release of Fe-rich pore waters during boundary exchange in the sediment. The implications for the use of 10Be/9Be in sedimentary records for paleo-denudation flux reconstructions are that in coast-proximal sites that are neither affected by deeper water nor by narrow boundary currents, the authigenic record will be a direct recorder of terrigenous denudation of the adjacent river catchments. Hence archive location and past oceanic circulation have to be accounted for

The quest for Malaysian meteoric water line began in 1981 when environmental isotope hydrology was introduced. In the 1980, and with the establishment of three stations at Pengkalan Chepa, Kepala Batas and Kuah, the Malaysian Meteoric Water Line acquired then was δD = 8δ 18 O + 12.68. With the addition of another four stations, by the end of 1990s, the Malaysian Meteoric Water Line for the decade was established as δD = 8 δ 18 O + 11.76. Taking the overall result between 1980 and mid 2000s the Malaysian Meteoric Water Line was established as δD = 8 δ 18 O + 13.255 and the weighted mean precipitation is (-7.64, -46.74). In establishing this meteoric water line it was observed that the higher altitude station manifested poorer stable isotopes content as compared to lower altitude station. It was also observed that as the amount of rain increased, the stable isotopes content would decrease and vice versa. The effect is reversed when the amount is due to monsoon rains and tropical storms. (Author)

The development of meteor astronomy associated with the development of CCD technology is reflected in a huge increase in databases of meteor orbits. It has never been possible before in the history of meteor astronomy to examine properties of meteors or meteor showers. Existing methods for detecting new meteor showers seem to be inadequate in these circumstances. The spontaneous discovery of new meteor showers leads to ambiguous specifications of new meteor showers. There is a duplication of already discovered meteor showers and a division of existing meteor showers based on their own criteria. The analysis in this article considers some new meteor showers in the IAU MDC database.

Structure of the meteors processes of collisions of paricles formd after interaction of meteoric matter with the Earth atmosphere are shortly described. Equation describing coagulation in meteor trails is obtained. Primary and secondary particles of meteor nature, representing the source of polydisperse aerosol, exist in meteor zone. Coagulation in meteor trails can be referred to Brownian one

20 February 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a fairly young meteor impact crater on Mars that is about the same size ( 1 kilometer; 0.62 miles) as the famous Meteor Crater in northern Arizona, U.S.A. Like the Arizona crater, boulders of ejected bedrock can be seen on the crater's ejecta blanket and in the crater itself. This crater is located in the Aethiopis region of Mars near 4.7oN, 224.1oW. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.

The flux of meteoroids, or number of meteoroids per unit area per unit time, is critical for calibrating models of meteoroid stream formation and for estimating the hazard to spacecraft from shower and sporadic meteors. Although observations of meteors in the millimetre to centimetre size range are common, flux measurements (particularly for sporadic meteors, which make up the majority of meteoroid flux) are less so. It is necessary to know the collecting area and collection time for a given set of observations, and to correct for observing biases and the sensitivity of the system. Previous measurements of sporadic fluxes are summarized in Figure 1; the values are given as a total number of meteoroids striking the earth in one year to a given limiting mass. The Gr n et al. (1985) flux model is included in the figure for reference. Fluxes for sporadic meteoroids impacting the Earth have been calculated for objects in the centimeter size range using Super-Schmidt observations (Hawkins & Upton, 1958); this study used about 300 meteors, and used only the physical area of overlap of the cameras at 90 km to calculate the flux, corrected for angular speed of meteors, since a large angular speed reduces the maximum brightness of the meteor on the film, and radiant elevation, which takes into account the geometric reduction in flux when the meteors are not perpendicular to the horizontal. They bring up corrections for both partial trails (which tends to increase the collecting area) and incomplete overlap at heights other than 90 km (which tends to decrease it) as effects that will affect the flux, but estimated that the two effects cancelled one another. Halliday et al. (1984) calculated the flux of meteorite-dropping fireballs with fragment masses greater than 50 g, over the physical area of sky accessible to the MORP fireball cameras, counting only observations in clear weather. In the micron size range, LDEF measurements of small craters on spacecraft have been used to

There exist well-documented accounts of the observations of enhanced night-glow associated with spectacular meteor shower displays. Possible mechanisms responsible for this elusive phenomenon are examined. It is shown that the observed emission is not a direct consequence of the influx of meteors on the Earth but rather has its source in scattering of solar radiation by interplanetary micrometeoroids which form the dense dustclouds ejected by the parent comets of the associated meteor streams. (author)

We present a comprehensive analysis of Australian Aboriginal accounts of meteors. The data used were taken from anthropological and ethnographic literature describing oral traditions, ceremonies, and Dreamings of 97 Aboriginal groups representing all states of modern Australia. This revealed common themes in the way meteors were viewed between Aboriginal groups, focusing on supernatural events, death, omens, and war. The presence of such themes around Australia was probably due to the unpredictable nature of meteors in an otherwise well-ordered cosmos.

Design approaches are described and evaluated for a mercury electron-bombardment ion thruster array. Such an array might be used on a solar electric interplanetary spacecraft that obtains electrical energy from large solar panels. Thruster array designs are described and evaluated as they would apply to an Encke Flyby mission. Besides several well known approaches, a new concept utilizing individual two-axis gimbal actuators on each thruster is described and shown to have many structural and thermal advantages.

In the post-war period, a general interest in the upper atmosphere led to the development of more efficient meteor cameras and later, electronic image-intensification systems recording on video tape. As a result several thousand meteor spectra are now available. In this paper, the general nature of meteor spectra is discussed as is the resolution in these spectra, the height and velocity of the meteor stream, the chemical abundance and photometric techniques for the determination of absolute luminosities in the spectrum lines. (Auth.)

Multiple potential parent species have been proposed to explain CN abundances in comet comae, but the parent has not been definitively identified for all comets. This study examines the spatial distribution of CN radicals in the coma of comet Encke and determines the likelihood that CN is a photodissociative daughter of HCN in the coma. Comet Encke is the shortest orbital period (3.3 years) comet known and also has a low dust-to-gas ratio based on optical observations. Observations of CN were obtained from 2003 October 22 to 24, using the 2.7 m telescope at McDonald Observatory. To determine the parent of CN, the classical vectorial model was modified by using a cone shape in order to reproduce Encke's highly aspherical and asymmetric coma. To test the robustness of the modified model, the spatial distribution of OH was also modeled. This also allowed us to obtain CN/OH ratios in the coma. Overall, we find the CN/OH ratio to be 0.009 ± 0.004. The results are consistent with HCN being the photodissociative parent of CN, but we cannot completely rule out other possible parents such as CH 3 CN and HC 3 N. We also found that the fan-like feature spans ∼90°, consistent with the results of Woodney et al..

No two meteor showers are alike, and their variation depends on current conditions and the observer's location. This introduction to the art of meteor observing explains how best to view meteor activity under all conditions and from all locations.

Three sections of Ovid's Metamorphoses are examined, providing further information on meteoric beliefs in ancient Roman times. These include meteoric imagery among the portents associated with the death of Julius Caesar, which we mentioned previously from the works of William Shakespeare (McBeath and Gheorghe, 2003b).

Full Text Available The EISCAT UHF system has the unique capability to determine meteor vector velocities from the head echo Doppler shifts measured at the three sites. Since even meteors spending a very short time in the common volume produce analysable events, the technique lends itself ideally to mapping the orbits of meteors arriving from arbitrary directions over most of the upper hemisphere.

A radar mode optimised for this application was developed in 2001/2002. A specially selected low-sidelobe 32-bit pseudo-random binary sequence is used to binary phase shift key (BPSK the transmitted carrier. The baud-length is 2.4 μs and the receiver bandwidth is 1.6 MHz to accommodate both the resulting modulation bandwidth and the target Doppler shift. Sampling is at 0.6 μs, corresponding to 90-m range resolution. Target range and Doppler velocity are extracted from the raw data in a multi-step matched-filter procedure. For strong (SNR>5 events the Doppler velocity standard deviation is 100–150 m/s. The effective range resolution is about 30 m, allowing very accurate time-of-flight velocity estimates. On average, Doppler and time-of-flight (TOF velocities agree to within about one part in 103. Two or more targets simultaneously present in the beam can be resolved down to a range separation <300 m as long as their Doppler shifts differ by more than a few km/s.

The highly favorable perigee passage of the x-ray bright comet 2P/Encke in late 2003 provided an excellent opportunity to use Chandra's high spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution to study cometary x-ray emission in the low neutral target density, low x-ray flux regime. The 1997 ROSAT/EUVE observations of Encke (Lisse et al. 1999) and the nucleus rotation studies of Luu and Jewitt (1990, most likely rotation period = 15 hours) suggested a simple Chandra experiment - continuous ACIS-S observations of Encke over 15 hours during the time of its closest approach to Earth. Here we report initial results from our X-ray observations. X-ray emission from comet Encke was found only in a small, asymmetric region between 1500 km - 40,000 km from the nucleus. The Encke ACIS-S3 200 -- 1000 eV spectrum shows many of the same x-ray emission lines previously observed from comets (C+5, O+6,O+7), including confirmation of several emission lines in the 800 to 1000 eV range. However, the Encke spectrum shows very different line ratios in the 200 - 700 eV range than any previous comet. A lightcurve with peak-to-peak amplitude of 20% and period 11.7 hours was found over the 15 hour observing period. Comparing the observations to contemporaneous measurements of the coma and solar wind made by other means, we find the combination of a low density, collisionally thin (to charge exchange) coma and a post-massive X-flare, high temperature, moderate density solar wind can explain our unusual Encke x-ray observations.

The problem of meteorite origin and meteorite composition is discussed. Nowadays, most scientists suppose that the giant Oort cloud consisting of ice comet nuclei is the sourse of the meteor matter. A principle unity of the matter of meteorites falling to the Earth and cosmic dust is noted as well as that of meteorite bodies evaporating in the atmosphere and bearing meteors and bodies

Asteroids, Comets, Meteors focuses on the research of small Solar System bodies. Small bodies are the key to understanding the formation and evolution of the Solar System, carrying signals from pre-solar times. Understanding the evolution of the Solar System helps unveil the evolution of extrasolar planetary systems. Societally, small bodies will be important future resources of minerals. The near-Earth population of small bodies continues to pose an impact hazard, whether it be small pieces of falling meteorites or larger asteroids or cometary nuclei capable of causing global environmental effects. The conference series entitled ''Asteroids, Comets, Meteors'' constitutes the leading international series in the field of small Solar System bodies. The first three conferences took place in Uppsala, Sweden in 1983, 1985, and 1989. The conference is now returning to Nordic countries after a quarter of a century. After the Uppsala conferences, the conference has taken place in Flagstaff, Arizona, U.S.A. in 1991, Belgirate, Italy in 1993, Paris, France in 1996, Ithaca, New York, U.S.A. in 1999, in Berlin, Germany in 2002, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2005, in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. in 2008, and in Niigata, Japan in 2012. ACM in Helsinki, Finland in 2014 will be the 12th conference in the series.

The exploration of the ionospheric E region is a pressing problem, both in the applied and fundamental studies. Results are presented of an investigation: (1) to estimate the meteor ionization contribution to the night time E layer and influx; (2) to study the phenomenon of intensive sporadic layer formation following cessation of meteor stream activity; and (3) to access the role of metallic ions of meteor origin in the diurnal and seasonal variations in the occurrence probabilities of midlatitude E/sub s/. The contribution was evaluated of meteor matter, Lyman radiation and corpuscular particles to the electron concentration of the night E region. Results are discussed

We report the results of 15 hr of Chandra observations of comet 2P/Encke 2003 on November 24. X-ray emission from comet Encke was resolved on scales of 500-40,000 km, with unusual morphology due to the presence of a low-density, collisionally thin (to charge exchange) coma. A light curve with

The signals of these three meteors were detected by the infrasound sensors of the International Monitoring System (IMS of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO. The progressive Multi Channel Technique is applied to the signals in order to locate these infrasound sources. Correlation of the recorded signals in the collocated elements of each array enables to calculate the delays at the different array element relative to a reference one as a way to estimate the azimuth and velocity of the coming infrasound signals. The meteorite infrasound signals show a sudden change in pressure with azimuth due to its track variation at different heights in the atmosphere. Due to movement of the source, a change in azimuth with time occurs. Our deduced locations correlate well with those obtained from the catalogues of the IDC of the CTBTO.

The planet Mercury is enveloped in a tenuous atmosphere, the result of a delicate balance between poorly understood sources and sinks (Killen et al, 2007). Meteoroid impacts are a contributing source process (eg Wurz et al, 2010), but their importance compared to other production mechanisms is uncertain. Killen and Hahn (2015) found that seasonal variations in Mercury's calcium exosphere as observed by the MASCS spectrometer onboard the MESSENGER spacecraft (Burger et al, 2014) may be due to impact vaporization of surface material by the infall of interplanetary dust. However, an additional dust source was required to explain a Ca excess at a True Anomaly Angle (TAA) of 25±5 deg. Killen and Hahn suggested that dust from comet 2P/Encke, crossing Mercury's orbital plane at TAA=45 deg, may be the culprit. We have simulated numerically the stream of meteoroids ejected from Encke to test the Killen and Hahn conjecture. We find that Encke particles evolving solely under the gravity of the major planets and the Sun encounter Mercury at TAA=50-60 deg, well after the peak of the Ca excess emission. However, the addition of Poynting-Robertson (P-R) drag in our model couples the age and size of the meteoroids to the TAA at encounter, causing smaller, older particles to encounter Mercury progressively earlier in the Hermean year. In particular, mm-sized grains ejected between 10 and 20 kyr ago impact on the nightside hemisphere of Mercury at TAA = 350-30 deg, near the observed peak time of the exospheric feature. During this presentation, we will describe our model results and discuss their implications for the physical mechanism that injects impact-liberated Ca into sunlight as well as the origin and evolution of the Encke stream of meteoroids. Astronomical research at the Armagh Observatory is funded by the Northern Ireland Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL). RMK was supported by NASA Grant NNX07AR78G-S01 as a Participating Scientist on the NASA MESSENGER

Significant amounts of meteor astronomical data are provided by amateurs worldwide, using various methods. This review concentrates on optical data. Long-term meteor shower analyses based on consistent data are possible over decades (Orionids, Geminids, κ-Cygnids) and allow combination with modelling results. Small and weak structures related to individual stream filaments of cometary dust have been analysed in both major and minor showers (Quadrantids, September ε-Perseids), providing feedback to meteoroid ejection and stream evolution processes. Meteoroid orbit determination from video meteor networks contributes to the improvement of the IAU meteor data base. Professional-amateur cooperation also concerns observations and detailed analysis of fireball data, including meteorite ground searches.

Using data associated with the sodium nightglow, it is possible to determine the minimum masses of meteoroids which might be expected to produce long-lived meteor trains. Such a procedure yields meteors having visual magnitudes in the range -2 to -5 depending on velocity. Since such values are in good accord with observation, the procedure provides important evidence regarding the source of enduring-train luminosity. (author)

Meteor showers are among the most spectacular celestial events that may be observed by the naked eye, and have been the object of fascination throughout human history. In “Meteor Showers: An Annotated Catalog,” the interested observer can access detailed research on over 100 annual and periodic meteor streams in order to capitalize on these majestic spectacles. Each meteor shower entry includes details of their discovery, important observations and orbits, and gives a full picture of duration, location in the sky, and expected hourly rates. Armed with a fuller understanding, the amateur observer can better view and appreciate the shower of their choice. The original book, published in 1988, has been updated with over 25 years of research in this new and improved edition. Almost every meteor shower study is expanded, with some original minor showers being dropped while new ones are added. The book also includes breakthroughs in the study of meteor showers, such as accurate predictions of outbursts as well ...

We will present preliminary results from our observational campaign of Comet 2P/Encke during its 2013 perihelion passage. At optical wavelengths Encke is an extremely dust poor comet that has in past perihelion passages emitted a gas jet in the form a sunward fan. We expect to characterize both the morphology and lightcurve of the comet. The low optical dust means that even near perihelion the nuclear signature can be obtained in lightcurve data taken with narrowband continuum filters which cut out the gas emission. The campaign will consist of both narrowband and broadband imaging as well as infrared spectroscopy. Imaging will be obtained from 8 nights on the KPNO 2.1m between Sept. 7 and 14 UT. Additionally, the Murillo Family Observatory, a 0.5m telescope on the CSUSB campus which is equipped with both broadband filters and a narrowband Hale-Bopp set of filters will be used to observe the comet every clear night the moon allows between late August and early October to obtain extensive lightcurve data. These data will overlap both the Kitt Peak observations and the infrared spectroscopy which will be obtained with the SpeX instrument at the IRTF on four nights between September 26 UT and October 2 UT.

We present high-resolution infrared spectroscopic measurements of the ecliptic comet 2P/Encke, observed on 4-6 Nov. 2003 during its close approach to the Earth, using the Near Infrared Echelle Spectrograph on the Keck II telescope. We present flux-calibrated spectra, production rates, and mixing ratios for H2O, CH3OH, HCN, H2CO, C2H2, C2H6, CH4 and CO. Comet 2P/Encke is a dynamical end-member among comets because of its short period of 3.3 years. Relative to "organics-normal" comets, we determined that 2PlEncke is depleted in HCN, H2CO, C2H2, C2H6, CH4 and CO, but it is enriched in CH3OH. We compared mixing ratios of these organic species measured on separate dates, and we see no evidence of macroscopic chemical heterogeneity in the nucleus of 2P/Encke, however, this conclusion is limited by sparse temporal sampling. The depleted abundances of most measured species suggest that 2P/Encke may have formed closer to the young Sun, before its insertion to the Kuiper belt, compared with "organics-normal" comets - as was previously suggested for other depleted comets (e.g. C/1999 S4 (LINEAR)). We measured very low rotational temperatures of 20 - 30 K for H2O, CH3OH and HCN in the near nucleus region of 2P/Encke, which correlate with one of the lowest cometary gas production rates (approx. 2.6 x 10(exp 27) molecules/s) measured thus far in the infrared. This suggests that we are seeing the effects of more efficient radiative cooling, insufficient collisional excitation, and/or inefficient heating by fast H-atoms (and icy grains) in the observed region of the coma. Its extremely short orbital period, very low gas production rate, and classification as an ecliptic comet, make 2PlEncke an important addition to our growing database, and contribute significantly to the establishment of a chemical taxonomy of comets.

A low latency meteor detection algorithm for use with fast steering mirrors had been previously developed to track and telescopically follow meteors in real-time (Gural, 2007). It has been rewritten as a generic clustering and tracking software module for meteor detection that meets both the demanding throughput requirements of a Raspberry Pi while also maintaining a high probability of detection. The software interface is generalized to work with various forms of front-end video pre-processing approaches and provides a rich product set of parameterized line detection metrics. Discussion will include the Maximum Temporal Pixel (MTP) compression technique as a fast thresholding option for feeding the detection module, the detection algorithm trade for maximum processing throughput, details on the clustering and tracking methodology, processing products, performance metrics, and a general interface description.

Full Text Available Meteors are an important source for (a the metal atoms of the upper atmosphere metal layers and (b for condensation nuclei, the existence of which are a prerequisite for the formation of noctilucent cloud particles in the polar mesopause region. For a better understanding of these phenomena, it would be helpful to know accurately the annual and diurnal variations of meteor rates. So far, these rates have been little studied at polar latitudes. Therefore we have used the 33 MHz meteor radar of the ALOMAR observatory at 69° N to measure the meteor rates at this location for two full annual cycles. This site, being within 3° of the Arctic circle, offers in addition an interesting capability: The axis of its antenna field points (almost towards the North ecliptic pole once each day of the year. In this particular viewing direction, the radar monitors the meteoroid influx from (almost the entire ecliptic Northern hemisphere. We report on the observed diurnal variations (averaged over one month of meteor rates and their significant alterations throughout the year. The ratio of maximum over minimum meteor rates throughout one diurnal cycle is in January and February about 5, from April through December 2.3±0.3. If compared with similar measurements at mid-latitudes, our expectation, that the amplitude of the diurnal variation is to decrease towards the North pole, is not really borne out. Observations with the antenna axis pointing towards the North ecliptic pole showed that the rate of deposition of meteoric dust is substantially larger during the Arctic NLC season than the annual mean deposition rate. The daylight meteor showers of the Arietids, Zeta Perseids, and Beta Taurids supposedly contribute considerably to the June maximum of meteor rates. We note, though, that with the radar antenna pointing as described above, all three meteor radiants are close to the local horizon but all three radiants were detected.

The results of 200 spectrophotometric study of five bright meteors and indentification of spectral lines are given. Distribution of energy for different points of the paths of meteors is found. Masses of meteor particles are determined on the base of integrated curves of brightness

We review the literature for perceptions of meteors in the Maori culture of Aotearoa or New Zealand. We examine representations of meteors in religion, story, and ceremony. We find that meteors are sometimes personified as gods or children, or are seen as omens of death and destruction. The stories we found highlight the broad perception of meteors found throughout the Maori culture, and note that some early scholars conflated the terms comet and meteor.

"Meteors Without Borders" is a global project, organized by Astronomers Without Borders and launched during the Global Astronomy Month in 2010 for the Lyrid meteor shower. The project focused on encouraging amateur astronomy groups to hold public outreach events for major meteor showers, conduct meteor-related classroom activities, photography, poetry and art work. It also uses social-media platforms to connect groups around the world to share their observations and photography, live during the events. At the International Meteor Conference 2011, the progress of the project was presented along with an extended invitation for collaborations for further improvements of the project.

The limiting meteor magnitude of a meteor camera system will depend on the camera hardware and software, sky conditions, and the location of the meteor radiant. Some of these factors are constants for a given meteor camera system, but many change between meteor shower or sporadic source and on both long and short timescales. Since the limiting meteor magnitude ultimately gets used to calculate the limiting meteor mass for a given data set, it is important to have an understanding of these factors and to monitor how they change throughout the night, as a 0.5 magnitude uncertainty in limiting magnitude translates to a uncertainty in limiting mass by a factor of two.

Mathematical modelling has shown that activity of the Geminid meteor shower should rise with time, and that was confirmed by analysis of visual observations 1985-2016. We do not expect any outburst activity of the Geminid shower in 2017, even though the asteroid (3200) Phaethon has a close approach to Earth in December of 2017. A small probability to observe dust ejected at perihelia 2009-2016 still exists.

It has been suggested that variations of the atmospheric scale height at meteor ablation altitudes could be responsible for the recorded correlations between radar meteor rates and solar activity. A quantitative examination of a theoretical treatment by Kaiser (personal communication) is reported which shows that his suggestion is certainly plausible and gives details of the necessary scale height changes as a function of the meteor mass exponent. (U.K.)

A new piece of software ``Meteor Logger'' for the radio observation of meteors is described. It analyses an incoming audio stream in the frequency domain to detect a radio meteor signal on the basis of its signature, instead of applying an amplitude threshold. For that reason the distribution of the three frequencies with the highest spectral power are considered over the time (3f method). An auto notch algorithm is developed to prevent the radio meteor signal detection from being jammed by a present interference line. The results of an exemplary logging session are discussed.

Future gravity missions like GRACE-FO and beyond will deliver low-low satellite-to-satellite (ll-sst) ranging measurements of much increased precision. This necessitates a re-evaluation of the processes used in gravity field determination with an eye to numerical stability. When computing gravity fields from ll-sst data, precise positions of both satellites are needed in the setup of the observation equations. These positions thus have an immediate effect on the sought-after gravity field parameters. We use reduced-dynamic orbits which are computed through integration of all accelerations experienced by the satellite, as determined through a priori models and observed through the accelerometer. Our simulations showed that computing the orbit of the satellite through complete integration of all acting forces leads to numeric instabilities magnitudes larger than the expected ranging accuracy. We introduce a numerically stable approach employing a best-fit keplerian reference orbit based on Encke's method. Our investigations revealed that using canonical formulations for the evaluation of the reference keplerian orbit and accelerations lead to insufficient precision, necessitating an alternative formulation like the equinoctial elements.

Full Text Available We present the first global simulations on the occurrence of meteor trail plasma irregularities. These results seek to answer the following questions: when a meteoroid disintegrates in the atmosphere, will the resulting trail become plasma turbulent? What are the factors influencing the development of turbulence? and how do these trails vary on a global scale? Understanding meteor trail plasma turbulence is important because turbulent meteor trails are visible as non-specular trails to coherent radars. Turbulence also influences the evolution of specular radar meteor trails; this fact is important for the inference of mesospheric temperatures from the trail diffusion rates, and their usage for meteor burst communication. We provide evidence of the significant effect that neutral atmospheric winds and ionospheric plasma density have on the variability of meteor trail evolution and on the observation of non-specular meteor trails. We demonstrate that trails are far less likely to become and remain turbulent in daylight, explaining several observational trends for non-specular and specular meteor trails.

The necessity of precise ranging of meteor trails is emphasised possible methods are considered. A scheme with a non ius circular trace and intensity indication giving an unique for meteor radar accuracy ± 50 m is described in detail. Results are given of experimental and practical work of the system

Between a few to several hundred tons of meteoric material enters the Earth's atmosphere each day, and much of this material ablates in the 70 -130 km region of the atmosphere. Already in the early 1960's it was suggested that meteoroid ablation products could recondense and form solid nanometer-scale smoke particles in the altitude range of the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT). These so-called meteoric smoke particles (MSPs) are then subject to further coagulation, sedimentation, and transport by the mesospheric meridional circulation which in turn determines the latitudinal and seasonal variation of the MSP distribution. MSPs have been suggested to be important for a variety of atmospheric phenomena: 1. they are the most likely candidate for the nuclei of mesospheric ice particles (NLC and PMSE); 2. they provide surface area on which heterogeneous chemical reactions take place and may influence, for example, the water vapor distribution and Ox/HOx chemistry in the mesosphere; 3. they act as ultimate sink in mesospheric metal chemistry by scavenging various gas-phase products of meteoric ablation; 4. they can significantly influence the ionospheric D-region charge balance by scavenging free electrons and positive ions; and 5. they may be involved in the formation of NAT particles in polar stratospheric clouds and the destruction of ozone. Given the above points, it is obvious that there is a large scientific interest in the properties and global distribution of MSPs. Basic information about MSP properties is today available from optical occultation measurements (AIM/SOFIE) and, more indirectly, from in-situ measurements of the charged particle population. In order to understand the role of meteoric smoke particles in the mesosphere and their impact on that environment their presence must be certified and their physical characterization (number density, size distribution, shape, composition etc.) determined. A way to obtain maximum information about particle

Studies of meteor trails have until now been limited to relatively simple models, with the trail often being treated as a conducting cylinder, and the head (if considered at all) treated as a ball of ionized gas. In this article, we bring the experience gleaned from other fields to the domain of meteor studies, and adapt this prior knowledge to give a much clearer view of the microscale physics and chemistry involved in meteor-trail formation, with particular emphasis on the first 100 or so milliseconds of the trail formation. We discuss and examine the combined physicochemical effects of meteor-generated and ablationally amplified cylindrical shock waves that appear in the ambient atmosphere immediately surrounding the meteor train, as well as the associated hyperthermal chemistry on the boundaries of the high temperature post-adiabatically expanding meteor train. We demonstrate that the cylindrical shock waves produced by overdense meteors are sufficiently strong to dissociate molecules in the ambient atmosphere when it is heated to temperatures in the vicinity of 6000 K, which substantially alters the considerations of the chemical processes in and around the meteor train. We demonstrate that some ambient O2, along with O2 that comes from the shock dissociation of O3, survives the passage of the cylindrical shock wave, and these constituents react thermally with meteormetal ions, thereby subsequently removing electrons from the overdense meteor train boundary through fast, temperature-independent, dissociative recombination governed by the second Damköhler number. Possible implications for trail diffusion and lifetimes are discussed.

The date on absolute spectrophotometry of meteor spectrograms permit to estimate the number of radiating particles for different brightness of meteor. Methods of nonradiation meteor mass estimation are given. Comparison of observed numbers of radiating concentration with know data of artificial cosmic sample will allow to get the coefficients for calculation the nonradiating meteor mass.

On May 24, 2014 Earth will encounter multiple streams of debris laid down by Comet 209P LINEAR. This will likely produce a new meteor shower, never before seen. Rates predicted to be from 100 to 1000 meteors per hour between 2 and 4 AM EDT, so we are dealing with a meteor outburst, potentially a storm. Peak rate of 200 per hour best current estimate. Difficult to calibrate models due to lack of past observations. Models indicate mm size particles in stream, so potential risk to Earth orbiting spacecraft.

We report contemporaneous imaging observations of the short-period comet 2P/Encke in infrared and optical wavelengths during the 2003 return. Both images show the same unique morphology consisting of a spiky dust cloud near the nucleus and a dust trail extending along the orbit. We conducted a dynamical simulation of dust particles to characterize the morphology and found that dust particles were ejected intensively for a short duration (≲10 days) a few days after perihelion passage. The maximum particle size is at least on the order of 1 cm in radius following a differential power-law size distribution with an index of −3.2 to −3.6. The total mass ejected in the 2003 return is at least 1.5 × 10{sup 9}–1.2 × 10{sup 10} kg, which corresponds to 0.003%–0.03% of the nucleus mass. We derived the albedo of the dust cloud as 0.01–0.04 at a solar phase angle of 26.°2, which is consistent with or possibly greater than that of the nucleus. We suppose that impulsive activity such as an outburst is a key to understanding the peculiar appearance of 2P/Encke.

The Kochi University of Technology (KUT) meteor radar is an educational low cost observation system built at Kochi, Japan by successive graduate students since 2004. The system takes advantage of the continuous VHF- band beacon signal emitted from Fukui National College of Technology (FNCT) for scientific usage all over Japan by receiving the forward scattered signals. The system uses the classical forward scattering setup similar to the setup described by the international meteor organization (IMO), gradually developed from the most basic single antenna setup to the multi-site meteor path determination setup. The primary objective is to automate the observation of the meteor parameters continuously to provide amounts of data sufficient for statistical analysis. The developed software system automates the observation of the astronomical meteor parameters such as meteor direction, velocity and trajectory. Also, automated counting of meteor echoes and their durations are used to observe mesospheric ozone concentration by analyzing the duration distribution of different meteor showers. The meteor parameters observed and the methodology used for each are briefly summarized.

We have carried out a meteor watching public campaigns from 2004 for major meteor showers in the case of appropriate observing condition as one of the outreach programs conducted by National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. We received a huge number of the reports on meteor counts from the general public participants. The results sometimes show similar time variation of the hourly rates derived from the data collected by skilled observers. In this paper, some of the results are presented showing that such campaigns have a potential to extract scientific result related to the meteor showers mainly due to the large number of the data collected by unskilled observers.

Although sporadic meteoroids are a much greater hazard to spacecraft than shower meteoroids in general, meteor showers can significantly increase the risk of damage over short time periods. Because showers are brief, it is sometimes possible to mitigate the risk operationally, which requires accurate predictions of shower activity. NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office generates an annual meteor shower forecast that describes the variations in the near-Earth meteoroid flux produced by meteor showers, which presents the shower flux both in absolute terms and relative to the sporadic ux. The shower forecast incorporates model predictions of annual variations in shower activity and quotes fluxes to several limiting particle kinetic energies. In this work, we describe our forecasting methods, compare them to actual observations, and highlight recent improvements to the temporal pro les based on flux measurements from the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar (CMOR).

Prediction of short lived increases in the cosmic dust influx, the concentration in lower thermosphere of atoms and ions of meteor origin and the determination of the frequency of micrometeor impacts on spacecraft are all of scientific and practical interest and all require adequate models of meteor showers at an early stage of their existence. A Monte Carlo model of meteor matter ejection from a parent body at any point of space was worked out by other researchers. This scheme is described. According to the scheme, the formation of ten well known meteor streams was simulated and the possibility of genetic affinity of each of them with the most probable parent comet was analyzed. Some of the results are presented

We describe a new analysis of a set of 32 UHF meteor radar traces recorded with the 422 MHz ALTAIR radar facility in November 1998. Emphasis is on the velocity measurements, and on inferences that can be drawn from them regarding the meteor masses and mass densities. We find that the velocity vs altitude data can be fitted as quadratic functions of the path integrals of the atmospheric densities vs distance, and deceleration rates derived from those fits all show the expected behavior of increasing with decreasing altitude. We also describe a computer model of the coupled processes of collisional heating, radiative cooling, evaporative cooling and ablation, and deceleration - for meteors composed of defined mixtures of mineral constituents. For each of the cases in the data set we ran the model starting with the measured initial velocity and trajectory inclination, and with various trial values of the quantity mPs 2 (the initial mass times the mass density squared), and then compared the computed deceleration vs altitude curves vs the measured ones. In this way we arrived at the best-fit values of the mPs 2 for each of the measured meteor traces. Then further, assuming various trial values of the density Ps, we compared the computed mass vs altitude curves with similar curves for the same set of meteors determined previously from the measured radar cross sections and an electrostatic scattering model. In this way we arrived at estimates of the best-fit mass densities Ps for each of the cases. Keywords meteor ALTAIR radar analysis 1 Introduction This paper describes a new analysis of a set of 422 MHz meteor scatter radar data recorded with the ALTAIR High-Power-Large-Aperture radar facility at Kwajalein Atoll on 18 November 1998. The exceptional accuracy/precision of the ALTAIR tracking data allow us to determine quite accurate meteor trajectories, velocities and deceleration rates. The measurements and velocity/deceleration data analysis are described in Sections

It is shown that a number of features of meteor showers such as the correlation of orbital semimajor axes and longitudes of the ascending nodes with meteor magnitudes, the restriction of visibility periods and the displacement of maximum activity dates is explained by the joint influence of planetary perturbations, the Poynting-Robertson effect and its corpuscular analogue, light pressure and ejection velocities of different mass meteoroids from cometary nuclei. (orig.)

This script is a User's Guide for the software package METEOR for statistical analysis of meteorological data series. The original version of METEOR have been developed by Ph.D. Elena Palomo, CIEMAT-IER, GIMASE. It is built by linking programs and routines written in FORTRAN 77 and it adds the graphical capabilities of GNUPLOT. The shape of this toolbox was designed following the criteria of modularity, flexibility and agility criteria. All the input, output and analysis options are structured in three main menus: i) the first is aimed to evaluate the quality of the data set; ii) the second is aimed for pre-processing of the data; and iii) the third is aimed towards the statistical analyses and for creating the graphical outputs. Actually the information about METEOR is constituted by three documents written in spanish: 1) METEOR v1.0: User's guide; 2) METEOR v1.0: A usage example; 3) METEOR v1.0: Design and structure of the software package. (Author)

Meteors are an excellent way to sample the local population of small asteroidal and cometary material. Various methods are used to calculate the trajectory, energy, mass and orbit of meteoroids which collide with the atmosphere. Optical methods, including photographic and video observations, can provide information on how meteoroids ablate in the atmosphere, and from this their chemical and physical properties can be inferred. New observing systems have higher resolution than ever before, allowing details as small as a few meters to be distinguished in some cases (e.g. Weryk et al. 2013), and some optical systems are equipped with spectral detectors which allow the atomic composition of the meteoroids to be obtained. Computer automation of both the observing and data reduction process has become much more practical recently. Meteor patrol radars are capable of observing thousands of meteor orbits every day, allowing the details of the distribution of meteoroids at 1 au to be found (e.g. Brown et al. 2010). Radars can operate in daylight and through clouds, providing observations when optical methods fail. High power, large aperture radars allow the ionization curves of very small meteors to be used in the same way as optical light curves, and can also produce precise orbits for meteoroids (Kero et al. 2012). Other methods used to observe meteors, including infrasound, can estimate their position in the atmosphere and their energy, and are particularly useful for very bright fireballs (Ens et al., 2012). Recent advances in meteor observing techniques will be reviewed, including the systematic tracking of meteors with computer guided mirrors and a telescope, and multistation patrol radar observations.

This volume is a compilation of articles that summarize the most recent results in meteor, meteoroid and related fields presented at the Meteoroids 2007 conference held at the impressive CosmoCaixa Science Museum in Barcelona, Spain. The conference took place between the 11th and the 15th of June and was organized by the Institute of Space Sciences (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC) and the Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC). Researchers in meteor science and supporting fields representing more than 20 countries participated at this international conference. The papers contained in this volume underwent the rigorous refereeing process, and they are good examples of the continuous progress being made in this research field. Technological advances in meteor and metoroid detection, the ever-increasing sophistication of computer modeling, and the proliferation of autonomous monitoring stations continue to create new niches for exciting research on meteoroids and their parent bo...

Some meteorically-relevant lines from Coleridge's poem `The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' are discussed, presented with three of Dore's engraved illustrations to the poem, by way of concluding this Meteor Beliefs Project Hallowe'en Special.

The Andromedid meteor shower underwent spectacular outbursts in 1872 and 1885, producing thousands of visual meteors per hour and described as `stars fell like rain' in Chinese records of the time. The shower originates from comet 3D/Biela whose disintegration in the mid-1800's is linked to the outbursts, but the shower has been weak or absent since the late 19th Century. This shower returned in December 2011 with a zenithal hourly rate of approximately 50, the strongest return in over a hund...

This volume represents a blend of leading edge research and authoritative reviews in meteor science. It provides a comprehensive view of meteoroid research including the dynamics, sources and distribution of these bodies, and their chemistry and physical processes in the interplanetary medium and the Earth’s atmosphere. Techniques for investigation of meteor phenomena in the book include conventional and large aperture radar systems, spacecraft detection, optical systems, spectral measurements, and laboratory based interplanetary dust particle studies. The book will be of interest to researchers and students in astronomy, astrophysics, cosmochemistry, space engineering and space science. Cover photograph was taken by Masayuki Toda.

Meteor wind observation at Kyoto Station has now collected a fairly large amount of data enough to enable to know the basic dynamic state at meteor heights over the station. Tidal and prevailing winds have been detected and their behavior seems now well understood on daily and seasonal basis. A comparison with observations at other stations suggests classical tidal theory to be relevant to explain the average state. Deviations from the mean present problems on the existence of various causes including hydromagnetic effects. Gravity waves would be an interesting subject in future study. (author)

Under the condition of equal heliocentric distances on the ecliptic plane, predictions of cometary meteor orbit and its radiant point are presented and discussed in terms of meteor observations. Some adjustment methods regarding the parent cometary orbit in order to fulfill the proposed conditions for the apparition of meteor streams are also presented. (author)

The purpose of meteor observations in INASAN is the study of meteor showers, as the elements of the migrant substance of the Solar System, and estimation of risk of hazardous collisions of spacecrafts with the particles of streams. Therefore we need to analyze the meteor events with brightness of up to 8 m, which stay in meteoroid streams for a long time and can be a hazardous for the spacecraft. The results of our single station TV observations of autumn meteor showers for the period from 2006 to 2008 are presented. The high-sensitive hybrid camera (the system with coupled of the Image Intensifier) FAVOR with limiting magnitude for meteors about 9m. . .10m in the field of view 20 × 18 was used for observations. In 2006-2008 from October to November more than 3 thousand of meteors were detected, 65% from them have the brightness from 6m to 9m. The identification with autumn meteor showers (Orionids, Taurids, Draconids, Leonids) was carried out. In order to estimate the density of the influx of meteor matter to the Earth for these meteor showers the Index of meteor activity (IMA) was calculated. The IMA distribution for the period 2006 - 2008 is given. The distributions of autumn meteor showers (the meteors with brightness of up to 8 m) by stellar magnitude from 2006 to 2008 are also presented.

We tried to analyze activities of meteor showers from accumulated data collected by public campaigns for meteor showers which were performed as outreach programs. The analyzed campaigns are Geminids (in 2007 and 2009), Perseids (in 2008 and 2009), Quadrantids (in 2009) and Orionids (in 2009). Thanks to the huge number of reports, the derived time variations of the activities of meteor showers is very similar to those obtained by skilled visual observers. The values of hourly rates are about one-fifth (Geminids 2007) or about one-fourth (Perseids 2008) compared with the data of skilled observers, mainly due to poor observational sites such as large cities and urban areas, together with the immature skill of participants in the campaign. It was shown to be highly possible to estimate time variation in the meteor shower activity from our campaign.

A radar meteor echo is the radar scattering signature from the free-electrons in a plasma trail generated by entry of extraterrestrial particles into the atmosphere. Three categories of scattering mechanisms exist: specular, nonspecular trails, and head-echoes. Generally, there are two types of radars utilized to detect meteors. Traditional VHF meteor radars (often called all-sky1radars) primarily detect the specular reflection of meteor trails traveling perpendicular to the line of sight of the scattering trail, while High Power and Large Aperture (HPLA) radars efficiently detect meteor head-echoes and, in some cases, non-specular trails. The fact that head-echo measurements can be performed only with HPLA radars limits these studies in several ways. HPLA radars are very sensitive instruments constraining the studies to the lower masses, and these observations cannot be performed continuously because they take place at national observatories with limited allocated observing time. These drawbacks can be addressed by developing head echo observing techniques with modified all-sky meteor radars. In addition, the fact that the simultaneous detection of all different scattering mechanisms can be made with the same instrument, rather than requiring assorted different classes of radars, can help clarify observed differences between the different methodologies. In this study, we demonstrate that such concurrent observations are now possible, enabled by the enhanced design of the Southern Argentina Agile Meteor Radar (SAAMER) deployed at the Estacion Astronomica Rio Grande (EARG) in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. The results presented here are derived from observations performed over a period of 12 days in August 2011, and include meteoroid dynamical parameter distributions, radiants and estimated masses. Overall, the SAAMER's head echo detections appear to be produced by larger particles than those which have been studied thus far using this technique.

The data obtained in the period from 4 November 2014 to 31 July 2014 by our receiving and recording system was statistically processed. The system records meteoric echoes from the TV transmitter Lviv 49.739583 MHz (N49.8480° E24.0369°, Ukraine) using a 4-element Yagi antenna with horizontal polarization (elevation of 0° and azimuth of 60°), receiver ICOM R-75 in the CW mode, and a computer with a recording using HROFFT v1.0.0f. The main goal was to identify weak showers in these data. Mayor or strong showers are visible without processing (referred at IMC2015, Mistelbach). To find or to identify weaker showers is more difficult. Not all echoes are meteoric echoes, but also ionospheric echoes or lightning disturbances are present.

In various spectral regions the intensity variations are studied along the track of a base meteor with three flares having the character of spherical explosion. The concentration of radiating atoms in the flare is estimated. In the moment of the first flare there was a sharp intensity increase in the red region of spectrum. In two other flares the radiation in the interval 4400-4700 A is predominated. During all the three flares which continued 0.04 s, the meteoric body lost 40% of its initial mass. The concentration of Mg 2 atoms (4481 A) which gave the main contribution into the intensity of the third, brightest flare in blue spectral region, is found to be 1x10 11 cm -3

The Perseid meteor shower has been observed for millennia and known for its visually spectacular meteors and occasional outbursts. The Perseids were expected to outburst in 2016, primarily due to particles released during the 1862 and 1479 revolutions of Comet Swift-Tuttle. NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office predicted the timing, strength and duration of the outburst for spacecraft risk using the MSFC Meteoroid Stream Model. A double peak was predicted, with an outburst displaying a ZHR of 210 +/- 50 at 00:30 UTC Aug 12, and a traditional peak approximately 12 hours later with rates still heightened from the outburst. Video, visual, and radar observations taken worldwide by various entities were used to characterize the shower and compare to predictions.

The ability to detect radar echoes from backscatter due to turbulent irregularities of the radio refractive index in the clear atmosphere has lead to an increasing number of established mesosphere - stratosphere - troposphere (MST or ST) radars. Humidity and temperature variations are responsible for the echo in the troposphere and stratosphere and turbulence acting on electron density gradients provides the echo in the mesosphere. The MST radar and its smaller version, the ST radar, are pulsed Doppler radars operating in the VHF - UHF frequency range. These echoes can be used to determine upper atmosphere winds at little extra cost to the ST radar configuration. In addition, the meteor echoes can supplement mesospheric data from an MST radar. The detection techniques required on the ST radar for delineating meteor echo returns are described

The first global model of meteoric iron in the atmosphere (WACCM-Fe) has been developed by combining three components: the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM), a description of the neutral and ion-molecule chemistry of iron in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT), and a treatment of the injection of meteoric constituents into the atmosphere. The iron chemistry treats seven neutral and four ionized iron containing species with 30 neutral and ion-molecule reactions. The meteoric input function (MIF), which describes the injection of Fe as a function of height, latitude, and day, is precalculated from an astronomical model coupled to a chemical meteoric ablation model (CABMOD). This newly developed WACCM-Fe model has been evaluated against a number of available ground-based lidar observations and performs well in simulating the mesospheric atomic Fe layer. The model reproduces the strong positive correlation of temperature and Fe density around the Fe layer peak and the large anticorrelation around 100 km. The diurnal tide has a significant effect in the middle of the layer, and the model also captures well the observed seasonal variations. However, the model overestimates the peak Fe+ concentration compared with the limited rocket-borne mass spectrometer data available, although good agreement on the ion layer underside can be obtained by adjusting the rate coefficients for dissociative recombination of Fe-molecular ions with electrons. Sensitivity experiments with the same chemistry in a 1-D model are used to highlight significant remaining uncertainties in reaction rate coefficients, and to explore the dependence of the total Fe abundance on the MIF and rate of vertical transport.

Exotics have had a big impact on our environment. If you do not think so, just look at how many people believe that humans would not exist on this planet were it not for exotics. This belief centers on two main theories: (1) that humans could not have evolved were it not for a huge meteor from outer space striking the earth resulting in extinction of the dinasours, the...

Systematic radio observations to investigate the Quadrantid meteor shower structure are regularly carried out. They have now been conducted annually in the period of its maximum activity, January 1 to 6, since 1966. The latest results of these investigations are presented, on the basis of 1981 to 1984 data obtained using new equipment with a limiting sensitivity of +7.7 sup m which make it possible to draw some conclusions on the Quadrantids shower structure both for transverse and lengthwise directions.

Meteor Crator is a bowl-shaped depression encompassed by a rim composed chiefly of debris stacked in layers of different composition. Original bedrock stratigraphy is preserved, inverted, in the debris. The debris rests on older disturbed strata, which are turned up at moderate to steep angles in the wall of the crater and are locally overturned near the contact with the debris. These features of Meteor Crater correspond closely to those of a crater produced by nuclear explosion where depth of burial of the device was about 1/5 the diameter of the resultant crater. Studies of craters formed by detonation of nuclear devices show that structures of the crater rims are sensitive to the depth of explosion scaled to the yield of the device. The structure of Meteor Crater is such as would be produced by a very strong shock originating about at the level of the present crater floor, 400 feet below the original surface. At supersonic to hypersonic velocity an impacting meteorite penetrates the ground by a complex mechanism that includes compression of the target rocks and the meteorite by shock as well as hydrodynamic flow of the compressed material under high pressure and temperature. The depth of penetration of the meteorite, before it loses its integrity as a single body, is a function primarily of the velocity and shape of the meteorite and the densities and equations of state of the meteorite and target. The intensely compressed material then becomes dispersed in a large volume of breccia formed in the expanding shock wave. An impact velocity of about 15 km/sec is consonant with the geology of Meteor Crater in light of the experimental equation of state of iron and inferred compressibility of the target rocks. The kinetic energy of the meteorite is estimated by scaling to have been from 1.4 to 1.7 megatons TNT equivalent.

Over the last year, the IAU commission F1 (Meteors, Meteorites and Interplanetary Dust) has discussed and agreed a new definition of terminology related to our field of interest. It is available online at this link: https://www.iau.org/static/science/scientific_bodies/commissions/f1/meteordefinitions_approved.pdf. For your convenience it is reproduced here. Please keep these definitions in mind in any future communications about our topic.

The Andromedid meteor shower underwent spectacular outbursts in 1872 and 1885, producing thousands of visual meteors per hour and described as ''stars fell like rain'' in Chinese records of the time. The shower originates from comet 3D/Biela whose disintegration in the mid-1800's is linked to the outbursts, but the shower has been weak or absent since the late 19th century. This shower returned in 2011 December with a zenithal hourly rate of approximately 50, the strongest return in over a hundred years. Some 122 probable Andromedid orbits were detected by the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar while one possible brighter Andromedid member was detected by the Southern Ontario Meteor Network and several single station possible Andromedids by the Canadian Automated Meteor Observatory. The shower outburst occurred during 2011 December 3-5. The radiant at R.A. +18° and decl. +56° is typical of the ''classical'' Andromedids of the early 1800s, whose radiant was actually in Cassiopeia. Numerical simulations of the shower were necessary to identify it with the Andromedids, as the observed radiant differs markedly from the current radiant associated with that shower. The shower's orbital elements indicate that the material involved was released before 3D/Biela's breakup prior to 1846. The observed shower in 2011 had a slow geocentric speed (V G = 16 km s –1 ) and was comprised of small particles: the mean measured mass from the radar is ∼5 × 10 –7 kg, corresponding to radii of 0.5 mm at a bulk density of 1000 kg m –3 . Numerical simulations of the parent comet indicate that the meteoroids of the 2011 return of the Andromedids shower were primarily ejected during 3D/Biela's 1649 perihelion passage. The orbital characteristics, radiant, and timing as well as the absence of large particles in the streamlet are all broadly consistent with simulations. However, simulations of the 1649 perihelion passage necessitate going back five Lyapunov times (which is only 25 yr for the

Meteor wind radar systems are a powerful tool for study of the horizontal wind field in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT). While such systems have been operated for many years, virtually no literature has focused on radar system error analysis. The instrumental error may prevent scientists from getting correct conclusions on geophysical variability. The radar system instrumental error comes from different sources, including hardware, software, algorithms and etc. Radar signal processing plays an important role in radar system and advanced signal processing algorithms may dramatically reduce the radar system errors. In this dissertation, radar system error propagation is analyzed and several advanced signal processing algorithms are proposed to optimize the performance of radar system without increasing the instrument costs. The first part of this dissertation is the development of a time-frequency waveform detector, which is invariant to noise level and stable to a wide range of decay rates. This detector is proposed to discriminate the underdense meteor echoes from the background white Gaussian noise. The performance of this detector is examined using Monte Carlo simulations. The resulting probability of detection is shown to outperform the often used power and energy detectors for the same probability of false alarm. Secondly, estimators to determine the Doppler shift, the decay rate and direction of arrival (DOA) of meteors are proposed and evaluated. The performance of these estimators is compared with the analytically derived Cramer-Rao bound (CRB). The results show that the fast maximum likelihood (FML) estimator for determination of the Doppler shift and decay rate and the spatial spectral method for determination of the DOAs perform best among the estimators commonly used on other radar systems. For most cases, the mean square error (MSE) of the estimator meets the CRB above a 10dB SNR. Thus meteor echoes with an estimated SNR below 10dB are

The three-station Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar (CMOR) is used here to examine the Geminid meteor shower with respect to variation in the stream properties including the flux and orbital elements over the period of activity in each of the consecutive years 2005 2008 and the variability from year to year. Attention is given to the appropriate choice and use of the D-criterion in the separating the shower meteors from the sporadic background.

Meteor research using TV CCD unintensified techniques was started in 2011 in Nikolaev astronomical observatory (RI "NAO"). The method of meteor registration is based on the combined observation method developed at RI "NAO". The main accent of the research is made on the precise astrometry and meteoroid orbits calculation. In 2013 first double station meteors with low baseline were observed. Estimation of uncertainties of visible radiant equatorial coordinates, geocentric velocity and heliocentric meteoroid orbit parameters was carried out.

A global model of sodium in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere has been developed within the framework of the National Center for Atmospheric Research's Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model (WACCM). The standard fully interactive WACCM chemistry module has been augmented with a chemistry scheme that includes nine neutral and ionized sodium species. Meteoric ablation provides the source of sodium in the model and is represented as a combination of a meteoroid input function (MIF) and a parameterized ablation model. The MIF provides the seasonally and latitudinally varying meteoric flux which is modeled taking into consideration the astronomical origins of sporadic meteors and considers variations in particle entry angle, velocity, mass, and the differential ablation of the chemical constituents. WACCM simulations show large variations in the sodium constituents over time scales from days to months. Seasonality of sodium constituents is strongly affected by variations in the MIF and transport via the mean meridional wind. In particular, the summer to winter hemisphere flow leads to the highest sodium species concentrations and loss rates occurring over the winter pole. In the Northern Hemisphere, this winter maximum can be dramatically affected by stratospheric sudden warmings. Simulations of the January 2009 major warming event show that it caused a short-term decrease in the sodium column over the polar cap that was followed by a factor of 3 increase in the following weeks. Overall, the modeled distribution of atomic sodium in WACCM agrees well with both ground-based and satellite observations. Given the strong sensitivity of the sodium layer to dynamical motions, reproducing its variability provides a stringent test of global models and should help to constrain key atmospheric variables in this poorly sampled region of the atmosphere.

The results of search for meteor showers associated with the asteroids crossing the Earthfs orbit and moving on comet-like orbits are given. It was shown that among 2872 asteroids discovered till 1.01.2005 and belonging to the Apollo and Amor groups, 130 asteroids have associated meteor showers and, therefore, are the extinct cometary nuclei.

Institute of Astronomy RAS is one of the science institutes in the Russian Federation providing systematic optical meteor observations and supervises several meteor groups in our country. The main tasks of our investigations are dedicated to study meteoroid nature as well as meteoroid streams and meteoroid population in the Solar System. In the XXI century we in Russia carry out the reconstruction of our meteor astronomy due to possibilities of new meteor observation equipment (more powerful than were used before as visual and photographic methods) had made possible to select more interesting goals. First of our task is investigation of meteoroid streams crossing the Earth's orbit, and character of meteoroid distributions along of them. The multi stations meteor monitoring from located in the both hemispheres of the Earth can help in this study. According to the analysis of the evolution of meteor orbits, the compact and long lived meteoroid streams consist mainly from large particles. The observation equipment (cheap TV-cameras) with low limiting magnitude we use for gathering observational data. On the other hand, the observations of weak meteors are needed for new meteor shower indication (or confirmation of known meteor shower). The more effective way to do it is comparison of individual meteor orbits parameters (then calculation of radiants of meteor showers). The observations of space debris (as the meteors with low velocity - less 11.2 km/s) can be taking up within this task. The combination of high sensitive TV-cameras WATEC and super-fast lenses COMPUTAR are widely used for meteor TV-monitoring. The TVsystems for round-year meteor observations are fixed and are permanently oriented to the zenith area (the patrol camera - PatrolCa). The mobile TV-cameras (MobileCa) are used for double station observations (if it is possible) and located not far from main cameras PatrolCa (20-30 km). The mobile TVcameras observe 90% of main PatrolCa cameras FOV at altitudes

NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) is tasked with assisting spacecraft operators and engineers in quantifying the threat the meteoroid environment poses to their individual missions. A more complete understanding of the meteoroid environment for this application requires extensive observations. One manner by which the MEO observes meteors is with dedicated video camera systems that operate nightly. Connecting the observational data from these video cameras to the relevant physical properties of the ablating meteoroids, however, is subject to sizable observational and theoretical uncertainties. Arguably the most troublesome theoretical uncertainty in ablation is a model for the structure of meteoroids, as observations clearly show behaviors wholly inconsistent with meteoroids being homogeneous spheres. Further complicating the interpretation of the observations in the context of spacecraft risk is the ubiquitous process of fragmentation and the flares it can produce, which greatly muddles any attempts to estimating initial meteoroid masses. In this talk a method of estimating the mass distribution of fragments in flaring meteors using high resolution video observations will be dis- cussed. Such measurements provide an important step in better understanding of the structure and fragmentation process of the parent meteoroids producing these flares, which in turn may lead to better constraints on meteoroid masses and reduced uncertainties in spacecraft risk.

This paper describes techniques for trajectory, light curve and orbital analysis of image intensified television meteors recorded at two stations. It will be argued that simple partial screen reference star fitting is preferable to higher order whole screen fits, and that only modest improvements in accuracy result from additional reference stars. The coordinate transformations and triangulation procedures are expressed exclusively in vector-matrix format. A simulation program has been developed for estimation of probable errors in radiants, heights and speeds. Heights accurate to about 0.2 km can be obtained even with moderate (26 km) baselines. Because of the difficulty in defining a common fiducial point for the meteor head in different frames, velocities are usually in error by at least several percent. One technique for obtaining photometric measures from the digitized sequences will be described - accuracies of the order of +-0.20M can be obtained in a relative sense, with absolute accuracies no worse than double that value. The techniques are illustrated with actual two station data.

This work presents the first systematic video meteor observations from a, forthcoming permanent, station in Crete, Greece, operating as the first official node within the International Meteor Organization's Video Network. It consists of a Watec 902 H2 Ultimate camera equipped with a Panasonic WV-LA1208 (focal length 12mm, f/0.8) lens running MetRec. The system operated for 42 nights during 2011 (August 19-December 30, 2011) recording 1905 meteors. It is significantly more performant than a previous system used by the author during the Perseids 2010 (DMK camera 21AF04.AS by The Imaging Source, CCTV lens of focal length 2.8 mm, UFO Capture v2.22), which operated for 17 nights (August 4-22, 2010) recording 32 meteors. Differences - according to the author's experience - between the two softwares (MetRec, UFO Capture) are discussed along with a small guide to video meteor hardware.

Studies of meteor showers permit the solving of some principal problems of meteor astronomy: to obtain the structure of a stream in cross section and along its orbits; to retrace the evolution of particle orbits of the stream taking into account gravitational and nongravitational forces and to discover the orbital elements of its parent body; to find out the total mass of solid particles ejected from the parent body taking into account physical and chemical evolution of meteor bodies; and to use meteor streams as natural probes for investigation of the average characteristics of the meteor complex in the solar system. A simple and effective method of determining the flux density and mass exponent parameter was worked out. This method and its results are discussed

Between a few tons to several hundred tons of meteoric material enters the Earth's atmosphere each day, and most of this material is ablated and vaporized in the 70-120 km altitude region. The subsequent chemical conversion, re-condensation and coagulation of this evaporated material are thought to form nanometre sized meteoric smoke particles (MSPs). These smoke particles are then subject to further coagulation, sedimentation and global transport by the mesospheric circulation. MSPs have been proposed as a key player in the formation and evolution of ice particle layers around the mesopause region, i.e. noctilucent clouds (NLC) and polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE). MSPs have also been implicated in mesospheric heterogeneous chemistry to influence the mesospheric odd oxygen/odd hydrogen (Ox/HOx) chemistry, to play an important role in the mesospheric charge balance, and to be a significant component of stratospheric aerosol and enhance the depletion of O3. Despite their apparent importance, little is known about the properties of MSPs and none of the hypotheses can be verified without direct evidence of the existence, altitude and size distribution, shape and elemental composition. The aim of the MAGIC project (Mesospheric Aerosol - Genesis, Interaction and Composition) was to develop an instrument and analysis techniques to sample for the first time MSPs in the mesosphere and return them to the ground for detailed analysis in the laboratory. MAGIC meteoric smoke particle samplers have been flown on several sounding rocket payloads between 2005 and 2011. Several of these flights concerned non-summer mesosphere conditions when pure MSP populations can be expected. Other flights concerned high latitude summer conditions when MSPs are expected to be contained in ice particles in the upper mesosphere. In this paper we present the MAGIC project and describe the MAGIC MSP sampler, the measurement procedure and laboratory analysis. We also present the attempts to

This script describes a detailed example of the use of the software package METEOR for statistical analysis of meteorological data series. A real spanish meteorological data set is chosen to show the capabilities of METEOR. Output files and resultant plots provided of their interpretations are compiled in three appendixes. The original version of METEOR have been developed by Ph. D.Elena Palomo, CIEMAT-IER, GIASE. It is built by linking programs and routines written in FORTRAN 77 and it adds the graphical capabilities of GNUPLOT. The shape of this toolbox was designed following the criteria of modularity, flexibility and agility criteria. All the input, output and analysis options are structured in three main menus: i) the first is aimed to evaluate the quality of the data set; ii) the second is aimed for pre-processing of the data; and iii) the third is aimed towards the statistical analyses and for creating the graphical outputs. Actually the information about METEOR is constituted by three documents written is spanish: 1) METEOR v1.0: User's guide; 2) METEOR v1.0: A usage example; 3) METEOR v1 .0: Design and structure of the software package. (Author)

The predictions of the dustball meteor ablation theory of Hawkes and Jones (Mon. Not. R. Astr. Soc. 1975, 173, 339) have been tested using data from two-station television observations of meteors made during the 1977 and 1978 displays of the Perseid meteor shower. The meteor velocities and the heights at which each meteor began and ended, together with the heights of maximum brightness, were determined for 39 Perseid meteors in the magnitude range Msub(v) = +4 to -2. The beginning heights (hsub(B)) were found to be independent of meteor magnitude; they ranged from 105 to 115 km, with a mean value of hsub(B) = 110 +- 1 km. The end heights (hsub(E)) and the heights of maximum brightness (hsub(M)) were independent of meteor magnitude only up to a critical magnitude Msub(v) = 0 (corresponding to a meteoroid of critical mass of the order of 2 x 10 - 4 kg). Their mean values were hsub(E) = 99 +- 1 km and hsub(M) = 103 +- 1 km respectively. For meteors brighter than Msub(v) = 0, hsub(E) and hsub(M) were, on average, significantly lower than these mean levels, in good qualitative agreement with dustball theory. By assuming that, at the critical mass, dustball meteoroids disintegrate into their constituent grains just before ablation starts, it is found that 3 - 9 x 10 5 J kg - 1 is required to disintegrate Perseid dustball material. This value is several times lower than the value adopted by Hawkes and Jones (1 - 6 x 10 6 J kg - 1 ), suggesting that Perseid material is weaker than the material considered in the theory of dustball ablation. (author)

Attention is drawn to the suggestive similarities between the calculated perturbation behavior of Comet P/Machholtz 1986 VIII, on the one hand, and on the other those of the Quadrantid, Delta Aquarid, and Arietid meteor streams. There appears to be adequate evidence for the formation by the Comets P/Machholtz and 1491-I, together with the three meteor streams, of a related complex controlled by Jupiter's gravitational perturbations; there is no comparably compelling information, however, bearing on the questions of parent-offspring or sibling relationships among these comets and meteor streams. 13 refs

Several low cost approaches to continuous radioscatter monitoring of the incoming meteor flux are described. Preliminary experiments were attempted using standard time frequency stations WWVH and CHU (on frequencies near 15 MHz) during nighttime hours. Around-the-clock monitoring using the international standard aeronautical beacon frequency of 75 MHz was also attempted. The techniques are simple and can be managed routinely by amateur astronomers with relatively little technical expertise. Time series analysis can now be performed using relatively inexpensive microcomputers. Several algorithmic approaches to the analysis of meteor rates are discussed. Methods of obtaining optimal filter predictions of future meteor flux are also discussed

Full Text Available Meteor research using TV CCD unintensified techniques was started in 2011 in Nikolaev astronomical observatory (RI «NAO». The method of meteor registration is based on the combined observation method developed at RI «NAO». The main accent of the research is made on the precise astrometry and meteoroid orbits calculation. In 2013 first double station meteors with low baseline were observed. Estimation of uncertainties of visible radiant equatorial coordinates, geocentric velocity and heliocentric meteoroid orbit parameters was carried out.

Meteor research using TV CCD unintensified techniques was started in 2011 in Nikolaev astronomical observatory (RI NAO). The method of meteor registration is based on combined observation method developed at RI NAO. The main accent of the research is made on precise astrometry and meteoroid orbits calculation. In 2013 first double station meteors with low baseline were observed. The accuracy of visible radiant estimation is 0.7" with baseline 5 km, and less 0.5" with baseline 11.8 km. The accuracy of velocity and height estimation is 0.5 km/s and 1-2 km.

This script describes a detailed example of the use of the software package METEOR for statistical analysis of meteorological data series. A real spanish meteorological data set is chosen to show the capabilities of METEOR. Output files and resultant plots provided of their interpretations are compiled in three appendixes. The original version of METEOR have been developed by Ph. D.Elena Palomo, CIEMAT-IER, GIASE. It is built by linking programs and routines written in FORTRAN 77 and it adds the graphical capabilities of GNUPLOT. The shape of this toolbox was designed following the criteria of modularity, flexibility and agility criteria. All the input, output and analysis options are structured in three main menus: i) the first is aimed to evaluate the quality of the data set; ii) the second is aimed for pre-processing of the data; and iii) the third is aimed towards the statistical analyses and for creating the graphical outputs. Actually the information about METEOR is constituted by three documents written is spanish: 1) METEOR v1.0: User's guide; 2) METEOR v1.0: A usage example; 3) METEOR v1 .0: Design and structure of the software package. (Author)

Quadrantid across-stream activity profiles are presented for meteors of magnitudes (M) 4.3, 3.8, 3.3, 2.9 and 2.3, based on observations of overdense meteor trails. Not only does the profile become less symmetrical for brighter meteors but also the solar longitude of the stream maximum varies. Radar observations at Sheffield indicate that this variation is of the form: solar longitude = (283.24 +- 0.04) - (0.109 +- 0.010)M through the range 2.3 < M < 7.2. (author)

The forecasting of meteor showers is currently very good at predicting the timing of meteor outbursts, but still needs further work regarding the level of a given shower. Moreover, uncertainties are rarely provided, leaving the end user (scientist, space agency or the public) with no way to evaluate how much the prediction is trustworthy. A confidence index for the forecasting of meteor showers is presented. It allows one to better understand how a specific forecasting has been performed. In particular, it underlines the role of our current knowledge of the parent body, its past orbit and past activity. The role of close encounters with planets for the time period considered is quantified as well. This confidence index is a first step towards better constrained forecasting of future meteor showers.

No model of distribution of meteor substance is known to explain the observed diurnal and annual variations of meteor rates, if that distribution is assumed to be constant during the year. Differences between the results of observations and the prediction of diurnal variation rates leads to the conclusion that the density of the orbits of meteor bodies changes with the motion of the Earth along its orbit. The distributions of the flux density over the celestial sphere are obtained by the method described previously by Svetashkova, 1984. The results indicate that the known seasonal and latitudinal variations of atmospheric conditions does not appear to significantly affect the value of the mean flux density of meteor bodies and the matter influx onto the Earth

The large number of objects in a range of orbits around the Sun means that some will inevitably intersect the Earth, becoming a meteor. These objects are commonly comet fragments or asteroids. To determine the type of a particular meteor requires knowledge of its trajectory and orbital path...... that is typically estimated by using ground-based observations such as images or radar measurements. A lack of data can, however, make this difficult and create large uncertainties in the reconstructed orbit. Here I show a new method for estimating a meteor's trajectory, and hence allowing computation of the orbit......, based upon measurements from satellite sensors. The meteor that fell on 15 February 2013 is used as an example and the resulting orbit is in broad agreement with estimates from other observations. This new technique represents an alternative method for trajectory determination that may be particularly...

Analysis of the results of modeling disintegration of Comet 1P/Halley after its flare in 1991 has allowed us to predict an increase of the activity of the associated Eta Aquariids meteor shower in April-May 2018.

Sensitive long-wavelength radar observations of absolute velocity never previously published from Jicamarca are brought to bear on the long-standing problem of radar detection of slow-moving meteors. Attention is devoted to evaluating the ionization coefficient β(V) in the critically important velocity range of 11-20 km/s in recent laboratory measurements of Thomas et al. (2016). Theoretical predictions for β(V) based on the laboratory data, on Jones (1997), on Janches et al. (2014), and on Verniani and Hawkins (1964) are used to correct the incoming meteor velocities measured with the sensitive Jicamarca high-power, large-aperture radar operating at 6 m wavelength. All corrected distributions are consistent with the predictions of the Nesvorný model in showing pronounced monotonic increases down to the escape velocity (11 km/s). Such distributions may be essential to explaining the pronounced ledge in nighttime electron density and the rapid disappearance of electrons in meteor trails in the altitude range of 80-85 km.Plain Language SummaryIncoming meteors from space cannot be detected with radars unless the medium around the meteor is strongly ionized. In this study, the distribution of meteor velocities that are detected by the sensitive Jicamarca radar is corrected following theoretical models for the ionization coefficient, a measure of what fraction of the ablated meteor atoms are ionized. The results show that when the distribution of velocities is corrected, one is left with a large population of meteors that are entering the Earth's atmosphere close to the escape speed for the solar system which is 11 km/s.

A selection of genuine or supposedly sky-fallen objects from real-world sources, a mixture of weapons, tools and "magical" objects of heavenly provenance, are drawn from their re-use in the near-future science-fiction novel Spears of God by author Howard V Hendrix, with additional discussion. The book includes other meteoric and meteoritic items too, some of which have been the subject of previous Meteor Beliefs Project examinations.

The author proposes a physical mechanism for the formation of meteor swarms on orbits of small size and very small perihelion distance, similar to the orbits of Arietid and Geminid meteor swarms, which are rarely encountered among the larger bodies of the solar system, and he justifies the mechanism mathematically. He shows that comets can transfer to such orbits from orbits of large size during evaporation of their ice nuclei under the action of reactive drag

The echo heights and echo point ionization densities of 4587 sporadic radio-meteors have been determined using a calibrated interferometric height-finding system. Over the height interval 92 to 96 km no association was found between height and ionization but, for radio-meteors ablating above and below this region, significant and opposite trends exist in the data. It is suggested that this could be evidence for the influx of two distinct meteoroid populations. (author)

The Kappa Cygnid (KCG) meteor shower exhibited unusually high activity in 2014, producing ten times the typical number of meteors. The shower was detected in both radar and optical systems and meteoroids associated with the outburst spanned at least five decades in mass. In total, the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar, European Network, and NASA All Sky and Southern Ontario Meteor Network produced thousands of KCG meteor trajectories. Using these data, we have undertaken a new and improved characterization of the dynamics of this little-studied, variable meteor shower. The Cygnids have a di use radiant and a significant spread in orbital characteristics, with multiple resonances appearing to play a role in the shower dynamics. We conducted a new search for parent bodies and found that several known asteroids are orbitally similar to the KCGs. N-body simulations show that the two best parent body candidates readily transfer meteoroids to the Earth in recent centuries, but neither produces an exact match to the KCG radiant, velocity, and solar longitude. We nevertheless identify asteroid 2001 MG1 as a promising parent body candidate.

The short-term dependence of radar meteor rates on geomagnetic activity and/or central meridian passage (CMP) of bright or faint green corona regions is studied. A superimposed-epoch analysis was applied to radar meteor observations from the Ottawa patrol radar (Springhill, Ont.) and Ksub(p)-indices of geomagnetic activity for the period 1963 to 1967. During the minimum of solar activity (1963 to 1965) the CMP of bright coronal regions was followed by the maximum in the daily rates of persistent meteor echoes (>=4s), and the minimum in the daily sums of Ksub(p)-indices whereas the minimum or the maximum, respectively, occurs after the CMP of faint coronal regions. The time delay between the CMP of coronal structures and the corresponding maxima or minima is found to be 3 to 4 days. However, for the period immediately after the minimum of solar activity (1966 to 1967) the above correlation with the green corona is void both for the geomagnetic activity and radar meteor rates. An inverse correlation was found between the radar meteor rates and the geomagnetic activity irrespective of the solar activity. The observed effect can be ascribed to the solar-wind-induced ''geomagnetic'' heating of the upper atmosphere and to the subsequent change in the density gradient in the meteor zone. (author)

This script is a User's Guide for the software package METEOR for statistical analysis of meteorological data series. The original version of METEOR have been developed by Ph.D. Elena Palomo, CIEMAT-IER, GIMASE. It is built by linking programs and routines written in FORTRAN 77 and it adds the graphical capabilities of GNUPLOT. The shape of this toolbox was designed following the criteria of modularity, flexibility and agility criteria. All the input, output and analysis options are structured in three main menus: i) the first is aimed to evaluate the quality of the data set; ii) the second is aimed for pre-processing of the data; and iii) the third is aimed towards the statistical analyses and for creating the graphical outputs. Actually the information about METEOR is constituted by three documents written in spanish: 1) METEOR v1.0: User's guide; 2) METEOR v1.0: A usage example; 3) METEOR v1.0: Design and structure of the software package. (Author)

The Ursid meteor shower is an annual shower that usually shows little activity. However, its Zenith hourly rate sometimes increases, usually either when its parent comet, 8P/Tuttle, is close to its perihelion or its aphelion. Outbursts when the comet is away from perihelion are not common and outbursts when the comet is close to aphelion are extremely rare. The most likely explanation offered to date is based on the orbital mean motion resonances. The study of the aphelion outburst of 2000 December provided a means of testing that hypothesis. A new aphelion outburst was predicted for 2014 December. The SPanish Meteor Network, in collaboration with the French Fireball Recovery and InterPlanetary Observation Network, set up a campaign to monitor this outburst and eventually retrieve orbital data that expand and confirm previous preliminary results and predictions. Despite unfavourable weather conditions over the south of Europe over the relevant time period, precise trajectories from multistation meteor data recorded over Spain were obtained, as well as orbital and radiant information for four Ursid meteors. The membership of these four meteors to the expected dust trails that were to provoke the outburst is discussed, and we characterize the origin of the outburst in the dust trail produced by the comet in the year ad 1392.

This fascinating portrait of an amateur astronomy movement tells the story of how Charles Olivier recruited a hard-working cadre of citizen scientists to rehabilitate the study of meteors. By 1936, Olivier and members of his American Meteor Society had succeeded in disproving an erroneous idea about meteor showers. Using careful observations, they restored the public’s trust in predictions about periodic showers and renewed respect for meteor astronomy among professional astronomers in the United States. Charles Olivier and his society of observers who were passionate about watching for meteors in the night sky left a major impact on the field. In addition to describing Olivier’s career and describing his struggles with competitive colleagues in a hostile scientific climate, the author provides biographies of some of the scores of women and men of all ages who aided Olivier in making shower observations, from the Leonids and Perseids and others. Half of these amateur volunteers were from 13 to 25 years of...

Commission 22 (Meteors, Meteorites and Interplanetary Dust) was established at the first IAU General Assembly held in Rome in 1922, with William Frederick Denning as its first President. Denning was an accountant by profession, but as an amateur astronomer he contributed extensively to meteor science. Commission 22 thus established a pattern that has continued to this day that non-professional astronomers were welcomed and valued and could play a significant role in its affairs. The field of meteors, meteorites and interplanetary dust has played a disproportional role in the astronomical perception of the general public through the majestic displays of our annual meteor showers. Those in the field deployed many techniques uncommon in other fields of astronomy, studying the ``vermin of space'', the small solid bodies that pervade interplanetary space and impact Earth's atmosphere, the surface of the Moon, and that of our satellites in orbit. Over time, the field has tackled a wide array of problems, from predicting the encounter with meteoroid streams, to the origin of our meteorites and the nature of the zodiacal cloud. Commission 22 has played an important role in organizing the field through dedicated meetings, a data centre, and working groups that developed professional-amateur relationships and that organized the nomenclature of meteor showers. The contribution of Commission 22 to the field is perhaps most readily seen in the work of the presidents that followed in the footsteps of Denning.

We present the results of new calibration tests performed by the NASA Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) designed to help quantify and minimize systematic uncertainties in meteor photometry from video camera observations. These systematic uncertainties can be categorized by two main sources: an imperfect understanding of the linearity correction for the MEO's Watec 902H2 Ultimate video cameras and uncertainties in meteor magnitudes arising from transformations between the Watec camera's Sony EX-View HAD bandpass and the bandpasses used to determine reference star magnitudes. To address the first point, we have measured the linearity response of the MEO's standard meteor video cameras using two independent laboratory tests on eight cameras. Our empirically determined linearity correction is critical for performing accurate photometry at low camera intensity levels. With regards to the second point, we have calculated synthetic magnitudes in the EX bandpass for reference stars. These synthetic magnitudes enable direct calculations of the meteor's photometric flux within the camera bandpass without requiring any assumptions of its spectral energy distribution. Systematic uncertainties in the synthetic magnitudes of individual reference stars are estimated at approx. 0.20 mag, and are limited by the available spectral information in the reference catalogs. These two improvements allow for zero-points accurate to 0.05 - 0.10 mag in both filtered and unfiltered camera observations with no evidence for lingering systematics. These improvements are essential to accurately measuring photometric masses of individual meteors and source mass indexes.

Full Text Available We present a more complete and accurate catalogue of astronomical records for meteor showers and meteor storms appeared in primary official Korean history books, such as Samguk-sagi, Koryo-sa, Seungjeongwon-ilgi, and Choson-Wangjo-Sillok. So far the catalogue made by Imoto and Hasegawa in 1958 has been widely used in the international astronomical society. The catalogue is based on a report by Sekiguchi in 1917 that is mainly based on secondary history books. We observed that the catalogue has a number of errors in either dates or sources of the records. We have thoroughly checked the primary official history books, instead of the secondary ones, in order to make a corrected and extended catalogue. The catalogue contains 25 records of meteor storms, four records of intense meteor-showers, and five records of usual showers in Korean history. We also find that some of those records seem to correspond to some presently active meteor showers such as the Leonids, the Perseids, and the ¥ç-Aquarids-Orionids pair. However, a large number of those records do not correspond to such present showers. This catalogue we obtained can be useful for various astrophysical studies in the future.

We have investigated the carbonates in the impact melts and in a monolithic clast of highly shocked Coconino sandstone of Meteor Crater, AZ to evaluate whether melting or devolatilization is the dominant response of carbonates during high-speed meteorite impact. Both melt- and clast-carbonates are calcites that have identical crystal habits and that contain anomalously high SiO2 and Al2O3. Also, both calcite occurrences lack any meteoritic contamination, such as Fe or Ni, which is otherwise abundantly observed in all other impact melts and their crystallization products at Meteor Crater. The carbon and oxygen isotope systematics for both calcite deposits suggest a low temperature environment (impact melts, yield 100 wt% element totals by EMPA, suggesting complete loss of CO2. The target dolomite decomposed into MgO, CaO, and CO2; the CO2 escaped and the CaO and MgO combined with SiO2 from coexisting quartz and FeO from the impactor to produce the dominant impact melt at Meteor Crater. Although confined to Meteor Crater, these findings are in stark contrast to Osinski et al. (2008) who proposed that melting of carbonates, rather than devolatilization, is the dominant process during hypervelocity impact into carbonate-bearing targets, including Meteor Crater.

In order to assess current understanding of meteoric 10Be dynamics and distribution in terrestrial soils, we assembled a database of all published meteoric 10Be soil depth profiles, including 104 profiles from 27 studies in globally diverse locations, collectively containing 679 individual measurements. This allows for the systematic comparison of meteoric 10Be concentration to other soil characteristics and the comparison of profile depth distributions between geologic settings. Percent clay, 9Be, and dithionite-citrate extracted Al positively correlate to meteoric 10Be in more than half of the soils where they were measured, but the lack of significant correlation in other soils suggests that no one soil factor controls meteoric 10Be distribution with depth. Dithionite-citrate extracted Fe and cation exchange capacity are only weakly correlated to meteoric 10Be. Percent organic carbon and pH are not significantly related to meteoric 10Be concentration when all data are complied.The compilation shows that meteoric 10Be concentration is seldom uniform with depth in a soil profile. In young or rapidly eroding soils, maximum meteoric 10Be concentrations are typically found in the uppermost 20 cm. In older, more slowly eroding soils, the highest meteoric 10Be concentrations are found at depth, usually between 50 and 200 cm. We find that the highest measured meteoric 10Be concentration in a soil profile is an important metric, as both the value and the depth of the maximum meteoric 10Be concentration correlate with the total measured meteoric 10Be inventory of the soil profile.In order to refine the use of meteoric 10Be as an estimator of soil erosion rate, we compare near-surface meteoric 10Be concentrations to total meteoric 10Be soil inventories. These trends are used to calibrate models of meteoric 10Be loss by soil erosion. Erosion rates calculated using this method vary based on the assumed depth and timing of erosional events and on the reference data selected.

Given the current limited knowledge of meteor plasma micro-physics and its interaction with the surrounding atmosphere and ionosphere, meteors are a highly interesting observational target for high-resolution wide-field astronomical surveys. Such surveys are capable of resolving the physical size of meteor plasma heads, but they produce large volumes of images that need to be automatically inspected for possible existence of long linear features produced by meteors. Here, we show how big aperture sky survey telescopes detect meteors as defocused tracks with a central brightness depression. We derive an analytic expression for a defocused point source meteor track and use it to calculate brightness profiles of meteors modelled as uniform brightness discs. We apply our modelling to meteor images as seen by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Large Synoptic Survey Telescope telescopes. The expression is validated by Monte Carlo ray-tracing simulations of photons travelling through the atmosphere and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope telescope optics. We show that estimates of the meteor distance and size can be extracted from the measured full width at half-maximum and the strength of the central dip in the observed brightness profile. However, this extraction becomes difficult when the defocused meteor track is distorted by the atmospheric seeing or contaminated by a long-lasting glowing meteor trail. The full width at half-maximum of satellite tracks is distinctly narrower than meteor values, which enables removal of a possible confusion between satellites and meteors.

On the night of Oct. 18/19, 2012, at 00:23 UT, a -14.7 mag Orionid fireball occurred over northeastern Poland. The precise orbit and atmospheric trajectory of the event are presented, based on the data collected by five video stations and one photographic Polish Fireball Network station. The beginning height of the meteor is 168.4 ± 0.6 km, which makes the PF191012 Myszyniec fireball the highest ever observed, well-documented meteor not belonging to the Leonid shower. The ablation became the dominant source of light of the meteor at a height of around 115 km. The thermalization of sputtered particles is suggested to be the source of radiation above that value. The transition height of 115 km is 10-15 km below the transition heights derived for Leonids and might suggest that the material of Leonids is more fragile and probably has smaller bulk density than that of Orionids.

The variation of hourly detection counts from almost 350 radio meteor detection stations is analysed to determine the effect of year, time of day, and latitude on observations, as well as discussions of annual and monthly variations. Results indicate a significant increase in hourly detection counts in 2009-2010, supporting previous hypotheses of correlation between radio meteor detection rates and solar activity. Annual increases in meteor rates during summer months are noted, with no clear explanation. Monthly variations are not significant. The effect of latitude on detection counts is significant for years 2005-2016. For 12 of 17 considered years, night-time detection counts are greater than day-time counts, likely due to changes in ionospheric structure at night.

There is a lack of precise meteoroids orbit from video observations as most of the meteor stations use off-the-shelf CCD cameras. Few meteoroids orbit with precise semi-major axis are available using film photographic method. Precise orbits are necessary to compute the dust flux in the Earth s vicinity, and to estimate the ejection time of the meteoroids accurately by comparing them with the theoretical evolution model. We investigate the use of large CCD sensors to observe multi-station meteors and to compute precise orbit of these meteoroids. An ideal spatial and temporal resolution to get an accuracy to those similar of photographic plates are discussed. Various problems faced due to the use of large CCD, such as increasing the spatial and the temporal resolution at the same time and computational problems in finding the meteor position are illustrated.

A new method has been devised for analysing the periodicities from year to year in meteor-shower activity. This appears to give more reproducible results than have been previously obtained and the orbital period of Geminid radio meteors is found to be close to 1.49 yr, a value consistent with the decrease in period of faint meteors and also with the systematic change of solar longitude at maximum shower activity with decreasing meteoroid size. When interpreted in terms of the Poynting-Robertson effect, these data indicate a stream age of 4.7 x 10 3 yr which is sufficiently long to explain the lack of very large concentrations of particles in the stream. (author)

The goal of our study is to clarify meteor activities in the southern hemi-sphere by continuous optical observations with video cameras with automatic meteor detection and recording at Syowa station, Antarctica.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is funding two parallel studies for a ``Smart Panoramic Optical Head''. The main goal is to develop the technology for a space-qualified, very light-sensitive camera with a wide field of view, both from the hardware and the software side. The scientific application is to allow imaging of phenomena on the dark side of planets or moons, e.g. lightning flashes from thunderstorms or electrical discharges in sand storms, meteors, impact flashes, aurorae, etc. This paper will concentrate on the potential of this camera for the study of meteors from an orbit around a planet.

A new research effort at NASA Ames Research Center has been initiated in Planetary Defense, which integrates the disciplines of planetary science, atmospheric entry physics, and physics-based risk assessment. This paper describes work within the new program and is focused on meteor entry and breakup.Over the last six decades significant effort was expended in the US and in Europe to understand meteor entry including ablation, fragmentation and airburst (if any) for various types of meteors ranging from stony to iron spectral types. These efforts have produced primarily empirical mathematical models based on observations. Weaknesses of these models, apart from their empiricism, are reliance on idealized shapes (spheres, cylinders, etc.) and simplified models for thermal response of meteoritic materials to aerodynamic and radiative heating. Furthermore, the fragmentation and energy release of meteors (airburst) is poorly understood.On the other hand, flight of human-made atmospheric entry capsules is well understood. The capsules and their requisite heatshields are designed and margined to survive entry. However, the highest speed Earth entry for capsules is 13 kms (Stardust). Furthermore, Earth entry capsules have never exceeded diameters of 5 m, nor have their peak aerothermal environments exceeded 0.3 atm and 1 kW/sq cm. The aims of the current work are: (i) to define the aerothermal environments for objects with entry velocities from 13 to 20 kms; (ii) to explore various hypotheses of fragmentation and airburst of stony meteors in the near term; (iii) to explore the possibility of performing relevant ground-based tests to verify candidate hypotheses; and (iv) to quantify the energy released in airbursts. The results of the new simulations will be used to anchor said risk assessment analyses. With these aims in mind, state-of-the-art entry capsule design tools are being extended for meteor entries. We describe: (i) applications of current simulation tools to

A real-time computer-based meteor detector has been in operation by the author in the United States since February 1997. Operating in a completely autonomous mode it has successfully detected several meteors, numerous artificial satellites, and aircraft since its inception. Since the computer system is based on an Intel 486 microprocessor and operates at half the pixel resolution available from a CCD camera, it is believed with the faster computers on the market today, a full resolution system is realizable. A proposal to fund the building of such a system is in the works at this time.

It is uncertain whether arthroscopic partial meniscectomy is better than physical therapy in patients who have a symptomatic torn meniscus on top of osteoarthritis of the knee. The Meniscal Repair in Osteoarthritis Research (METEOR) trial concluded that physical therapy is acceptable at first, and that surgery is not routinely needed. In patients assigned to physical therapy who eventually needed surgery, the delay resulting from a trial of conservative management did not impair outcomes at 12 months from the initial presentation. Here, we analyze the background, design, findings, and clinical implications of the METEOR trial.

Surface brightness and line emission rates are derived for two persistent trails from the 1998 and 1999 Leonid meteor showers. The trails are optically thin, and in places appear as cylinders with a very dark center. This center is roughly as wide as the bright emission walls, but is as dark as the sky background. This situation is not in agreement with the simple hollow-cylinder model of shell burning. The data was acquired at the Starfire Optical Range on Kirtland AFB. The instruments were guided by a human observer onto the lingering trails of the meteors. A 5 degree wide Xybion camera, attached to the headring of the telescope, recorded the scene. The University of Illinois' sodium lidar determined the distance to the persistent trails. A 200-W copper vapor laser (CVL) was also used in an attempt to measure back-scatter from particulates in the contrails of the Leonids. Almost all of the meteors that produced lingering trails greatly enhanced the naturally occurring sodium layer at 100 km. The lingering trails generally appeared as evanescent smoke rings that evolved rather quickly, with the path of the meteor marked by a double walled, optically thin tube. A 15-minute highlight video will be presented showing the evolution of the lingering trails as well as the lidar and the CVL probing them.

If you are a web developer with basic knowledge of JavaScript and want to take on Web 2.0, build real-time applications, or simply want to write a complete application using only JavaScript and HTML/CSS, this is the book for you.This book is based on Meteor 1.0.

The Cameras for Allsky Meteor Surveillance (CAMS) video-based meteoroid orbit survey adds 60 newly identified showers to the IAU Working List of Meteor Showers (numbers 427, 445-446, 506-507, and part of 643-750). 28 of these are also detected in the independent SonotaCo survey. In total, 230 meteor showers and shower components are identified in CAMS data, 177 of which are detected in at least two independent surveys. From the power-law size frequency distribution of detected showers, we extrapolate that 36% of all CAMS-observed meteors originated from ∼700 showers above the N = 1 per 110,000 shower limit. 71% of mass falling to Earth from streams arrives on Jupiter-family type orbits. The transient Geminids account for another 15%. All meteoroids not assigned to streams form a sporadic background with highest detected numbers from the apex source, but with 98% of mass falling in from the antihelion source. Even at large ∼7-mm sizes, a Poynting-Robertson drag evolved population is detected, which implies that the Grün et al. collisional lifetimes at these sizes are underestimated by about a factor of 10. While these large grains survive collisions, many fade on a 104-y timescale, possibly because they disintegrate into smaller particles by processes other than collisions, leaving a more resilient population to evolve.

4. EQUIPMENT The two meteor burst systems considered are the AMBCS with its Master Station located at Anchorage and an existing mobile government owned...requirement. However, since the mobile government owned system was specifi- cally designed for flight following applications, the transi- tion to ship

This paper outlines new methods to measure optical meteor fluxes for showers and sporadic sources. Many past approaches have found the collecting area of a detector at a fixed 100 km altitude, but this approach considers the full volume, finding the area in two km height intervals based on the position of the shower or sporadic source radiant and the population's velocity. Here, the stellar limiting magnitude is found every 10 minutes during clear periods and converted to a limiting meteor magnitude for the shower or sporadic source having fluxes measured, which is then converted to a limiting mass. The final output is a mass limited flux for meteor showers or sporadic sources. Presented are the results of these flux methods as applied to the 2015 Perseid meteor shower as seen by the Meteoroid Environment Office's eight wide-field cameras. The peak Perseid flux on the night of August 13, 2015, was measured to be 0.002989 meteoroids/km2/hr down to 0.00051 grams, corresponding to a ZHR of 100.7.

A meteor trail is modeled by a long column of weakly ionized plasma, whose dispersion is controlled by the geomagnetic field and the requirement to maintain effective space charge neutrality. First we consider scattering of a radar signal from an underdense trail and derive an expression for the amplitude of the backscattered signal as a function of time. Then, starting from the basic momentum balance equations for electrons and ions in a partially ionized plasma, we require divergences of ion and electron fluxes to be equal, plus assume equality of the flux components along the magnetic field direction. The analysis is really applicable to a whole range of plasma problems, although we focus upon meteor trails for now. It is found that charged particle densities satisfy a diffusion equation and we obtain an expression for the ambipolar diffusion tensor and expressions for the ambipolar electric field, valid for arbitrary relative orientations of the magnetic field and meteor trail axis. Results are somewhat different from previous analyses in the meteor literature.

Most meteor showers will display typical activity levels in 2017. Perseid activity is expected to be higher than normal but less than in 2016; rates may reach 80% of the peak ZHR in 2016. Despite this enhancement, the Perseids rank 4th in flux for 0.04-cm-equivalent meteoroids: the Geminids (GEM), Daytime Arietids (ARI), and Southern delta Aquariids (SDA) all produce higher fluxes. Aside from heightened Perseid activity, the 2017 forecast includes a number of changes. In 2016, the Meteoroid Environment Office used 14 years of shower flux data to revisit the activity profiles of meteor showers included in the annual forecast. Both the list of showers and the shape of certain major showers have been revised. The names and three-letter shower codes were updated to match those in the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Meteor Data Center, and a number of defunct or insignificant showers were removed. The most significant of these changes are the increased durations of the Daytime Arietid (ARI) and Geminid (GEM) meteor showers. This document is designed to supplement spacecraft risk assessments that incorporate an annual averaged meteor shower flux (as is the case with all NASA meteor models). Results are presented relative to this baseline and are weighted to a constant kinetic energy. Two showers - the Daytime Arietids (ARI) and the Geminids (GEM) - attain flux levels approaching that of the baseline meteoroid environment for 0.1-cm-equivalent meteoroids. This size is the threshold for structural damage. These two showers, along with the Quadrantids (QUA) and Perseids (PER), exceed the baseline flux for 0.3-cm-equivalent particles, which is near the limit for pressure vessel penetration. Please note, however, that meteor shower fluxes drop dramatically with increasing particle size. As an example, the Arietids contribute a flux of about 5x10(exp -6) meteoroids m(exp -2) hr-1 in the 0.04-cm-equivalent range, but only 1x10(exp -8) meteoroids m(sub -2) hr-1 for the 0

In the present age, several techniques for the application to the observation of meteors and meteor showers have been developed in modern meteor astronomy. The initial definition for a meteor storm based on the visual observation with a Zenithal Hourly Rate of above 1000 seems insufficient now, since it only means a storm or burst of meteors in numbers and means that an eyewitness could have a chance to see a spectacular meteor show. Up to now, peoples have also recorded the meteoric flashes on the Moon during the Leonid meteor showers. Especially, the increasing activities of mankind in space for scientific, commercial and military purposes, have led to an increase in the problems concerning the safety of the satellites, space stations and astronauts. How the intense activity of a meteor storm is defined and forecast, some new points of view are needed. In this paper, several aspects about the intensity of the meteor storm are analyzed, including the number, mass, impulse, energy, electric charge, different purposes and different physical meanings. Finally, a synthetical index denoting the activity and potential threat of an intense meteor shower is suggested.

Video and photometric observations of a meteor-triggered ''jet'' event in association with the occurrence of a sprite were collected during the SPRITES '98 campaign. The event raises interest in the question of possible meteoric triggering of upper atmospheric transients as originally suggested by Muller [1995]. The event consisted of three stages: (1) the observation of a moderately bright meteor, (2) the development of a sprite in the immediate vicinity of the meteor as the meteor reached no lower than ∼70 km altitude, and (3) a slower-forming jet of luminosity that appeared during the late stages of the sprite and propagated back up the ionization trail of the meteor. The event is analyzed in terms of its geometry, its relevance to the meteor, and the implications to existing theories for sprite formation. (c) 1999 American Geophysical Union

Impact materials from the Barringer Meteor Crater were examined by combined micro-X-ray absorption near edge structure (micro-XANES) and micro-particle induced X-ray emission (micro-PIXE) methods. Efforts were focussed on the complex characterization of their iron-rich inclusions. The lateral distribution of elements as well as the oxidation state of iron was determined. The study demonstrates the capabilities of chemical speciation screening based on energy selective micro-XRF maps in geology. With the help of this method zero-valent (metallic) and three-valent iron were excluded in the studied specimens without performing XANES in every pixel.

The solar system is dusty, and would become dustier over time as asteroids collide and comets disintegrate, except that small debris particles in interplanetary space do not last long. They can be ejected from the solar system by Jupiter, thermally destroyed near the Sun, or physically disrupted by collisions. Also, some are swept by the Earth (and other planets), producing meteors. Here we develop a dynamical model for the solar system meteoroids and use it to explain meteor radar observations. We find that the Jupiter Family Comets (JFCs) are the main source of the prominent concentrations of meteors arriving at the Earth from the helion and antihelion directions. To match the radiant and orbit distributions, as measured by the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar (CMOR) and Advanced Meteor Orbit Radar (AMOR), our model implies that comets, and JFCs in particular, must frequently disintegrate when reaching orbits with low perihelion distance. Also, the collisional lifetimes of millimeter particles may be longer (gsim 105 yr at 1 AU) than postulated in the standard collisional models (~104 yr at 1 AU), perhaps because these chondrule-sized meteoroids are stronger than thought before. Using observations of the Infrared Astronomical Satellite to calibrate the model, we find that the total cross section and mass of small meteoroids in the inner solar system are (1.7-3.5) × 1011 km2 and ~4 × 1019 g, respectively, in a good agreement with previous studies. The mass input required to keep the zodiacal cloud in a steady state is estimated to be ~104-105 kg s-1. The input is up to ~10 times larger than found previously, mainly because particles released closer to the Sun have shorter collisional lifetimes and need to be supplied at a faster rate. The total mass accreted by the Earth in particles between diameters D = 5 μm and 1 cm is found to be ~15,000 tons yr-1 (factor of two uncertainty), which is a large share of the accretion flux measured by the Long Term Duration

The solar system is dusty, and would become dustier over time as asteroids collide and comets disintegrate, except that small debris particles in interplanetary space do not last long. They can be ejected from the solar system by Jupiter, thermally destroyed near the Sun, or physically disrupted by collisions. Also, some are swept by the Earth (and other planets), producing meteors. Here we develop a dynamical model for the solar system meteoroids and use it to explain meteor radar observations. We find that the Jupiter Family Comets (JFCs) are the main source of the prominent concentrations of meteors arriving at the Earth from the helion and antihelion directions. To match the radiant and orbit distributions, as measured by the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar (CMOR) and Advanced Meteor Orbit Radar (AMOR), our model implies that comets, and JFCs in particular, must frequently disintegrate when reaching orbits with low perihelion distance. Also, the collisional lifetimes of millimeter particles may be longer (∼> 10 5 yr at 1 AU) than postulated in the standard collisional models (∼10 4 yr at 1 AU), perhaps because these chondrule-sized meteoroids are stronger than thought before. Using observations of the Infrared Astronomical Satellite to calibrate the model, we find that the total cross section and mass of small meteoroids in the inner solar system are (1.7-3.5) × 10 11 km 2 and ∼4 × 10 19 g, respectively, in a good agreement with previous studies. The mass input required to keep the zodiacal cloud in a steady state is estimated to be ∼10 4 -10 5 kg s –1 . The input is up to ∼10 times larger than found previously, mainly because particles released closer to the Sun have shorter collisional lifetimes and need to be supplied at a faster rate. The total mass accreted by the Earth in particles between diameters D = 5 μm and 1 cm is found to be ∼15,000 tons yr –1 (factor of two uncertainty), which is a large share of the accretion flux measured by the

The brine leaks of salt mines of south Louisiana are of two genetic categories: meteoric and non-meteoric (connate/formation water type), as established essentially on the basis of oxygen- and hydrogen-isotope analyses. This paper highlights the hydrochemical aspects of those mine leaks and develops simple non-isotopic criteria to differentiate the meteoric leaks from the non-meteoric. The meteoric leaks of the salt mines generally occur down to a depth level of 214 m (700 ft.) (below mean sea level) below which the leaks are mostly non-meteoric. The meteoric brine is essentially Na1bCl in type, reflecting the mineralogy of almost pure halite (with ˜ 1-2% anhydrite) of the Gulf (of Mexico) Coast dome salt. The meteoric leaks are distinctly different from the non-meteoric leaks on the log-log plots of chloride concentrations vs. those of Ca 2+, Mg 2+, K +, Sr + and Br -, in all of which the meteoric brines are conspicuously low. This study is potentially useful in the development of a mine or crypt in salt dome(s) under consideration for possible nuclear-waste isolation in the Gulf Coast region.

Full Text Available The ECOMA sounding rocket campaign in 2010 was performed to investigate the charge state and number density of meteoric smoke particles during the Geminids meteor shower in December 2010. The ALOMAR Na lidar contributed to the campaign with measurements of sodium number density, temperature and line-of-sight wind between 80 and 110 km altitude over Andøya in northern Norway. This paper investigates a possible connection between the Geminids meteor shower and the mesospheric sodium layer. We compare with data from a meteor radar and from a rocket-borne in situ particle instrument on three days. Our main result is that the sodium column density is smaller during the Geminids meteor shower than the winter average at the same latitude. Moreover, during two of the three years considered, the sodium column density decreased steadily during these three weeks of the year. Both the observed decrease of Na column density by 30% and of meteoric smoke particle column density correlate well with a corresponding decrease of sporadic meteor echoes. We found no correlation between Geminids meteor flux rates and sodium column density, nor between sporadic meteors and Na column density (R = 0.25. In general, we found the Na column density to be at very low values for winter, between 1.8 and 2.6 × 1013 m−2. We detected two meteor trails containing sodium, on 13 December 2010 at 87.1 km and on 19 December 2010 at 84 km. From these meteor trails, we estimate a global meteoric Na flux of 121 kg d−1 and a global total meteoric influx of 20.2 t d−1.

Low frequency sound (infrasound) measurements have been selected within the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) as a technique to detect and identify possible nuclear explosions. The Seismology Division of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) operates since 1999 an experimental infrasound array of 16 micro-barometers. Here we show the rare detection and identification of an exploding meteor above Northern Germany on November 8th, 1999 with data from the Deelen Infrasound Array (DIA). At the same time, sound was radiated from the Atlantic Ocean, South of Iceland, due to the atmospheric coupling of standing ocean waves, called microbaroms. Occurring with only 0.04 Hz difference in dominant frequency, DIA proved to be able to discriminate between the physically different sources of infrasound through its unique lay-out and instruments. The explosive power of the meteor being 1.5 kT TNT is in the range of nuclear explosions and therefore relevant to the CTBT.

Simple Rayleigh condensation and Rayleigh evaporation models for evaluating correlation between the isotopic composition of hydrogen and oxygen in meteoric water are analysed in terms of influences of accumulation of conversion products, of mixing of vapour and liquid phases, of extension or contraction, respectively. The effect of simultaneous conversion in both directions can be taken into account by introducing the relative amounts η and (1-η) of condensation and evaporation. The model yields m 7.82 and q = 8.90 instead of the empirically found values m = 8.08 +- 0.80 and q = 9.57 +- 0.62 in the meteoric water line δD = mδ 18 O + q and a satisfactory understanding of the corresponding δD - δ 18 O correlations of the Northern and the Southern hemisphere with their different quantitative proportions of ocean and land masses. (author)

Within the period from 1969 to 1978, 73 proton events of solar cosmic radiation (SCR) in which the proton flux (Esub(p) > 5 MeV) in the event maximum exceed approximatly 10 protonxcm -2 s -1 have been investigated at the ''Meteor'' satellite in high-latitude regions of the Earth magnetosphere. A considerable asymmetry of proton fluxes is detected. A considerable effect on the SCR space-and-time characteristics is produced by a large-scale interplanetary magnetic field. To study SCR spectral distributions, data are considered on proton fluxes within energy ranges from 5 to 90 MeV (''Meteor'' satellite) and from 10 to 60 MeV (''Explorer'' satellite). The spectra are approximated by the power law. Results of investigations have shown that there is connection between the SCR space-and-time and spectral characteristics and the direction and structure of the solar magnetic fields, the interplanetary space and the geomagnetic field

Meteor Crater in Arizona was the first terrestrial structure to be widely recognized as a meteorite impact scar and has probably been more intensively studied than any other impact crater on Earth. We have discovered something surprising about its mode of formation--namely that the surface-impact velocity of the iron meteorite that created Meteor Crater was only about 12 km s(-1). This is close to the 9.4 km s(-1) minimum originally proposed but far short of the 15-20 km s(-1) that has been widely assumed--a realization that clears up a long-standing puzzle about why the crater does not contain large volumes of rock melted by the impact.

Meteor activities vary widely from year to year. We study here the June Bootids (JBO), τ-Herculids (TAH), and Andromedids (AND) which are basic examples for the recurrent nature of meteor showers. Half a century has passed since well-known photographic or radar meteor showers were detected. It is necessary to note that some `established' IAU showers are historical ones and we cannot always see them. We find the historical trace of AND by video and four distinct activities in the area of JBC (=JBO+TAH). Meteor showers look different by different observational techniques. Many minor showers in the IAU list have been detected only by observations stored for many days and many years; visual observations in a single night cannot perceive them naturally. We studied the φ-Piscids (PPS), χ-Taurids (CTA), γ-Ursae Minorids (GUM), η-Pegasids (ETP), and α-Sextantids (ASX) as examples and found they have not been recognized by visual observers at all. It is noteworthy that some of them have possible identifications in the IAU list and in preceding observations or reports. The difference in search methods makes the situations much more complicated. The five minor showers we studied here do not have confirmations by all observational techniques. Geobased search (radiant point, time of the observation, and possibly geocentric velocity) may overlook showers which are dispersed in radiant position. A search using the D-criterion is dependent on the presumption of a spherical distribution in the orbital space and may not represent the real distribution, or may overestimate the accuracy of the observations and lead to subdividing the showers into several parts. We must use these search methods properly.

Context. Meteoroid streams are fragments of matter produced by comets or asteroids which intersects the orbit of Earth. Meteor showers are produced when Earth intersects these streams of matter. The discoveries of active asteroids and extinct comets open a new view of the relation between these objects as possible parent bodies at the origin of meteor showers. Aims: The aim of this work is to identify the asteroids that can produce or re-populate meteoroid streams by determining the similarity of their orbits and orbital evolution over 10 000 yr. Methods: The identification was carried out by evaluating several well known D-criteria metrics, the orbits being taken from the IAU Meteor Data Center database and from IAU Minor Planet Center. Finally, we analyzed the physical properties and the orbital stability (in the Lyapunov time sense) of the candidates as well as their possible relationship with meteorites. Results: 206 near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) were associated as possible parent bodies with 28 meteor showers, according to at least two of the criterion used. 50 of them satisfied all the criteria. Notable finds are: binary asteroid 2000UG11 associated with Andromedids (AND), while the tumbling asteroid (4179)Toutatis could be associated with October Capricornids (OCC). Other possible good candidates are 2004TG10, 2008EY5, 2010CF55, 2010TU149 and 2014OY1. These objects have low albedo, therefore can be primitive objects. Asteroid 2007LW19 which is a fast rotator and most probably has monolithic structure and so its physical characteristic does not support the association found based on the dynamical criteria.

An advanced meteor radar viz., Enhanced Meteor Detection Radar (EMDR) operating at 35.25 MHz is installed at Sri Venkateswara University (SVU), Tirupati (13.63oN, 79.4oE), India, in the month of August 2013. Present communication describes the need for the meteor radar at present location, system description, its measurement techniques, its variables and comparison of measured mean winds with contemporary radars over the Indian region. The present radar site is selected to fill the blind region of Gadanki (13.5oN, 79.2oE) MST radar, which covers mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region (70-110 km). By modifying the receiving antenna structure and elements, this radar is capable of providing accurate wind information between 70 and 110 km unlike other similar radars. Height covering region is extended by increasing the meteor counting capacity by modifying the receiving antenna structure and elements and hence its wind estimation limits extended below and above of 80 and 100 km, respectively. In the present study, we also made comparison of horizontal winds in the MLT region with those measured by similar and different (MST and MF radars) techniques over the Indian region including the model (HWM 07) data sets. The comparison showed a very good agreement between the overlapping altitudes (82-98 km) of different radars. Zonal winds compared very well as that of meridional winds. The observed discrepancies and limitations in the wind measurement are discussed. This new radar is expected to play important role in understanding the vertical and lateral coupling by forming a unique local network.

In this paper, we present improvements made on our software for the analysis of visual meteor data. R package MetFns received major updates. Selection filters and algorithms for calculation of zenithal hourly rate and population index, as well as accompanying graphics, are corrected and their performance is improved. Web application MetRApp contains a completely remade user interface and some new features. Also, calculation performances are optimized.

During atmospheric thermal inversions, dew and hoarfrost concentrate gamma emitting radionuclides of the short-lived 222 Rn progeny ( 214 Pb and 214 Bi), causing an increase in the total natural gamma background from the ground. To highlight this phenomenon, a volcanic zone of high 222 Rn flux was studied during the winter season 2010-11. High-specific short-lived radon progeny activities up to 122 Bq g -1 were detected in hydro-meteors forming at the earth's surface (ESHs), corresponding to a mean increase of up to 17 % of the normal gamma background value. A theoretical model, depending on radon flux from soil and predicting the radon progeny concentrations in hydro-meteors forming at the ESHs is presented. The comparison between model and field data shows a good correspondence. Around nuclear power plants or in nuclear facilities that use automatic NaI or CsI total gamma spectroscopy systems for monitoring radioactive contamination, hydro-meteors forming at the ESHs in sites with a high radon flux could represent a relevant source of false alarms of radioactive contamination. (authors)

This talk addresses the topic of meteoroid stream parent body in relation to meteor showers observed on the Earth. We carry out a further search to investigate the possibility of meteor shower observations caused by particles ejected from (3552) Don Quixote. The (3552) Don Quixote asteroid was discovered in 1983 as an Amor asteroid. The Tisserand parameter for the orbit has a value of 2.315 with respect to Jupiter, which indicates a comet-like orbit. The diameter of the object calculated from the absolute magnitude, is in the range of 12.3--24.5 km. It all makes Don Quixote a good candidate for a short-period comet among known near-Earth objects, which the recently observed cometary activity confirms [1]. We have investigated the orbital evolution of the meteoroid stream originated from Don Quixote. If the object was active in the past, it might be a parent body for a meteor shower observed on the Earth. The model for the generation and evolution of the meteoroid stream in the Solar System is taken from [2]. The asteroid's orbital elements and physical properties are taken from the JPL horizons website. The ejections of meteoroids from the asteroid surface took place when the asteroid was passing its perihelion between 5000 B.C. and 2013 A.D. Next, the orbits of ejected meteoroids were integrated to the year 2050. If a meteoroid is sufficiently close to the Earth, its orbital parameters are saved and compared with known showers.

Imagine the unique experience of being the very first person to hold a newly-found meteorite in your hand – a rock from space, older than Earth! "Weekend meteorite hunting" with magnets and metal detectors is becoming ever more popular as a pastime, but of course you can’t just walk around and pick up meteorites in the same way that you can pick up seashells on the beach. Those fragments that survived the intense heat of re-entry tend to disguise themselves as natural rocks over time, and it takes a trained eye – along with the information in this book – to recognize them. Just as amateur astronomers are familiar with the telescopes and accessories needed to study a celestial object, amateur meteoriticists have to use equipment ranging from simple hand lenses to microscopes to study a specimen, to identify its type and origins. Equipment and techniques are covered in detail here of course, along with a complete and fully illustrated guide to what you might find and where you might find it. In fact, th...

Here we report on the results of meteor observations with 9-channel Mini-Mega-TORTORA (MMT-9) optical monitoring system with the wide field and high temporal resolution. During the first 1.5 years of operation more than 90 thousands of meteors have been detected, at a rate of 300-350 per night, with durations from 0.1 to 2.5 seconds and angular velocities up to 38 degrees per second. The faintest detected meteors have peak brightnesses about 10 mag, while the majority have them ranging from 4 to 8 mag. Some of the meteors have been observed in BVR filters simultaneously. Color variations along the trail for them have been determined. The parameters of the detected meteors have been published online. The database also includes data from 10 thousands of meteors detected by our previous FAVOR camera during 2006-2009.

An attempt is made to model a meteor observed with the Canadian Automated Meteor Observatory tracking system using a single body model. This meteor showed only very faint wake, implying that fragmentation was not important. Previous attempts to model the meteor with models of fragmenting meteors had overpredicted the amount of wake seen. A single-body, non-homogeneous ablation code was developed, but proved unsuccessful at matching the observed light curve of the meteor, even after a thorough search of parameter space. A model of a meteoroid fragmenting in many small bursts of small fragments was developed in an attempt to match both the light curve and the observed wake, and it succeeded in producing a qualitative fit to the light curve and to the high-resolution wake.

Meteor detection and analysis is an essential topic in the field of astronomy. In this paper, a high-sensitivity and high-time-resolution imaging device for the detection of faint meteoric events is presented. The instrument is based on a fast CCD camera and an image intensifier. Two such instruments form a double-station observation network. The MAIA (Meteor Automatic Imager and Analyzer) system has been in continuous operation since 2013 and has successfully captured hundreds of meteors belonging to different meteor showers, as well as sporadic meteors. A data processing pipeline for the efficient processing and evaluation of the massive amount of video sequences is also introduced in this paper.

FRACTAL FRAGMENTATION TRIGGERED BY METEOR IMPACT: THE RIES CRATER (GERMANY) Joali Paredes (1), Stefano Rossi (1), Diego Perugini (1), Ulrich Kueppers (2) 1. Department of Physics and Geology, University of Perugia, Italy 2. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Munich, Germany The Nördlinger Ries is a large circular depression in western Bavaria, Germany. The depression was caused by a meteor impact, which occurred about 14.3 million-14.5 million years ago. The original crater rim had an estimated diameter of 24 kilometers. Computer modeling of the impact event indicates that the impact or probably had diameters of about 1.5 kilometers and impacted the target area at an angle around 30 to 50 degrees from the surface in a west- southwest to east-northeast direction. The impact velocity is thought to have been about 20 km/s. The meteor impact generated extensive fragmentation of preexisting rocks. In addition, melting of these rocks also occurred. The impact melt was ejected at high speed provoking its extensive fragmentation. Quenched melt fragments are ubiquitous in the outcrops. Here we study melt fragment size distributions with the aim of understanding the style of melt fragmentation during ejection and to constrain the rheological properties of such melts. Digital images of suevite (i.e. the rock generated after deposition and diagenesis of ash and fragments produced by the meteor impact) were obtained using a high-resolution optical scanner. Successively, melt fragments were traced by image analysis and the images segmented in order to obtain binary images on which impact melt fragments are in black color, embedded on a white background. Hence, the size of fragments was determined by image analysis. Fractal fragmentation theory has been applied to fragment size distributions of melt fragments in the Ries crater. Results indicate that melt fragments follow fractal distributions indicating that fragmentation of melt generated by the

The flux of interplanetary particles in the size range 2 mm to 20 m is poorly constrained due to insufficient data --- the larger bodies may be observed remotely by ground-based or space-based telescopes and the smaller particles are measured by in-situ impact detectors in space or by meteor cameras from ground. An infrared video rate imager in Earth orbit would enable a systematic characterization for an extended period, day and night, of the flux in this range by monitoring the bright meteor/fireball generated during atmospheric entry. Due to the low flux of meteoroids in this range a very large detector is required. With this method a large portion of the Earth atmosphere is in fact used as a huge detector. Such an instrument has never flown in Earth orbit. The only sensors of a similar kind fly on US defense satellites for monitoring launches of ballistic missiles. The data from these sensors, however, is largely inaccessible to scientists. The knowledge on emission of light by meteors/bolides at infrared wavelengths is very limited while it can be suspected that the continuum emission from meteors/bolides have stronger emission at infrared wavelengths than in the visible due to the likely low temperatures of these events. At the same time line emission is dominating over the continuum in the visible so it is not clear how this will compare with the continuum in the infrared. We have developed a bread-board version of an IR video rate camera, the SPOSH-IR. The instrument is based on an earlier technology development, SPOSH --- Smart Panoramic Optical Sensor Head, for operation in the visible range, but with the sensor replaced by a cooled IR detector and new infrared optics. The earlier work has proven the concept of the instrument and of automatic detection of meteors/bolides in the visible wavelength range. The new hardware has been built by Jena-Optronik, Jena, Germany and has been tested during several meteor showers in the Netherlands and at ESA's OGS

Out of a total around 50,000 meteorites currently known to science, the atmospheric passage was recorded instrumentally in only 30 cases with the potential to derive their atmospheric trajectories and pre-impact heliocentric orbits. Similarly, while the observations of meteors, add thousands of new entries per month to existing databases, it is extremely rare they lead to meteorite recovery. Meteor studies thus represent an excellent example of the Big Data citizen science project, where progress in the field largely depends on the prompt identification and characterisation of meteor events as well as on extensive and valuable contributions by amateur observers. Over the last couple of decades technological advancements in observational techniques have yielded drastic improvements in the quality, quantity and diversity of meteor data, while even more ambitious instruments are about to become operational. This empowers meteor science to boost its experimental and theoretical horizons and seek more advanced scientific goals. We review some of the developments that push meteor science into the Big Data era that requires more complex methodological approaches through interdisciplinary collaborations with other branches of physics and computer science. We argue that meteor science should become an integral part of large surveys in astronomy, aeronomy and space physics, and tackle the complexity of micro-physics of meteor plasma and its interaction with the atmosphere. The recent increased interest in meteor science triggered by the Chelyabinsk fireball helps in building the case for technologically and logistically more ambitious meteor projects. This requires developing new methodological approaches in meteor research, with Big Data science and close collaboration between citizen science, geoscience and astronomy as critical elements. We discuss possibilities for improvements and promote an opportunity for collaboration in meteor science within the currently

This script describes the structure and the separated modules of the software package METEOR for the statistical analysis of meteorological data series. It contains a systematic description of the subroutines of METEOR and, also, of the required shape for input and output files. The original version of METEOR have been developed by Ph.D. Elena Palomo, CIEMAT-IER, GIMASE. It is built by linking programs and routines written in FORTRAN 77 and it adds thc graphical capabilities of GNUPLOT. The shape of this toolbox was designed following the criteria of modularity, flexibility and agility criteria. All the input, output and analysis options are structured in three main menus: i) the first is aimed to evaluate the quality of the data set; ii) the second is aimed for pre-processing of the data; and iii) the third is aimed towards the statistical analyses and for creating the graphical outputs. Actually the information about METEOR is constituted by three documents written in spanish: 1) METEOR v1.0: User's guide; 2) METEOR v1.0: A usage example; 3) METEOR v 1.0: Design and structure of the software package. (Author)

Recent model development of the Zodiacal Dust Cloud (ZDC) model (Nesvorny et al. 2010, 2011b) argue that the incoming flux of meteoric material into the Earth's upper atmosphere is mostly undetected by radars because they cannot detect small extraterrestrial particles entering the atmosphere at low velocities due to the relatively small production of electrons. In this paper we present a new methodology utilizing meteor head echo radar observations that aims to constrain the ZDC physical model by ground-based measurements. In particular, for this work, we focus on Arecibo 430 MHz observations since this is the most sensitive radar utilized for this type of observations to date. For this, we integrate and employ existing comprehensive models of meteoroid ablation, ionization and radar detection to enable accurate interpretation of radar observations and show that reasonable agreement in the hourly rates is found between model predictions and Arecibo observations when: 1) we invoke the lower limit of the model predicted flux (approximately 16 t/d) and 2) we estimate the ionization probability of ablating metal atoms using laboratory measurements of the ionization cross sections of high speed metal atom beams, resulting in values up to two orders of magnitude lower than the extensively utilized figure reported by Jones (1997) for low speeds meteors. However, even at this lower limit the model over predicts the slow portion of the Arecibo radial velocity distributions by a factor of 3, suggesting the model requires some revision.

One of the most important tasks of meteor astronomy is the study of the distribution of meteoroid matter in the solar system. The most important component to address this issue presents the results of measurements of the velocities, radiants, and orbits of both showers and sporadic meteors. Radiant's and orbits of meteors for different sets of data obtained as a result of photographic, television, electro-optical, video, Fireball Network and radar observations have been measured repeatedly. However, radiants, velocities and orbits of shower meteors based on the results of combined radar-optical observations have not been sufficiently studied. In this paper, we present a methods for computing the radiants, velocities, and orbits of the combined radar-TV meteor observations carried out at HisAO in 1978-1980. As a result of the two-year cycle of simultaneous TV-radar observations 57 simultaneous meteors have been identified. Analysis of the TV images has shown that some meteor trails appeared as dashed lines. Among the simultaneous meteors of d-Aquariids 10 produced such dashed images, and among the Perseids there were only 7. Using a known method, for such fragmented images of simultaneous meteors - together with the measured radar distance, trace length, and time interval between the segments - allowed to determine meteor velocity using combined method. In addition, velocity of the same meteors was measured using diffraction and radar range-time methods based on the results of radar observation. It has been determined that the mean values of meteoroid velocity based on the combined radar-TV observations are greater in 1 ÷ 3 km / c than the averaged velocity values measured using only radar methods. Orbits of the simultaneously observed meteors with segmented photographic images were calculated on the basis of the average velocity observed using the combined radar-TV method. The measured results of radiants velocities and orbital elements of individual meteors

Mid twentieth century meteor astronomy demanded the long-term compilation of observations made by numerous individuals over an extensive geographical area. Such a massive undertaking obviously required the participation of more than just professional astronomers, who often sought to expand their ranks through the use of amateurs that had a basic grasp of astronomy as well as the night sky, and were thus capable of generating first-rate astronomical reports. When, in the 1920s, renowned Swedish astronomer Knut Lundmark turned his attention to meteor astronomy, he was unable to rely even upon this solution. In contrast to many other countries at the time, Sweden lacked an organized amateur astronomy and thus contained only a handful of competent amateurs. Given this situation, Lundmark had to develop ways of engaging the general public in assisting his efforts. To his advantage, he was already a well-established public figure who had published numerous popular science articles and held talks from time to time on the radio. During the 1930s, this prominence greatly facilitated his launching of a crowdsourcing initiative for the gathering of meteor observations. This paper consists of a detailed discussion concerning the means by which Lundmark's initiative disseminated astronomical knowledge to the general public and encouraged a response that might directly contribute to the advancement of science. More precisely, the article explores the manner in which he approached the Swedish public, the degree to which that public responded and the extent to which his efforts were successful. The primary aim of this exercise is to show that the apparently recent Internet phenomenon of 'crowdsourcing', especially as it relates to scientific research, actually has a pre-Internet history that is worth studying. Apart from the fact that this history is interesting in its own right, knowing it can provide us with a fresh vantage point from which to better comprehend and appreciate

During the period from 1 to 17 August 2014 meteors were experimentally registered using radio waves. This experiment was conducted in the village of Iža, Slovakia. Its main objective was to test the technical equipment intended for continuous registration of meteor echoes, which will be located in the Slovak Central Observatory in Hurbanovo. These tests are an indirect continuation of previous experiments of observation of meteor showers using the technology available in Hurbanovo at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century. The device consists of two independent receiver systems. One recorded echoes of the transmitter Graves 143.050 MHz (N47.3480° E5.5151°, France) and the second one recorded echoes of the TV transmitter Lviv 49.739583 MHz (N49.8480° E24.0369°, Ukraine). The apparatus for tracking radio echoes of the transmitter Graves consists of a 9-element Yagi antenna with vertical polarization (oriented with an elevation of 0° at azimuth 270°), the receiver Yaesu VR-5000 in CW mode, and a computer with registration using the program HROFFT v1.0.0f. The second apparatus recording the echoes of the transmitter Lviv consists of a LP (log-periodic) antenna with horizontal polarization (elevation of 0° and azimuth of 90°), the receiver ICOM R-75 in the CW mode, and also a computer with registration using HROFFT v1.0.0f. A total of about 78000 echoes have been registered during around 700 hours of registration. Probably not all of them are caused by meteors. These data were statistically processed and compared with visual observations in the IMO database. Planned own visual observations could not be performed due to unfavourable weather conditions lasting from 4 to 13 August 2014. The registered data suggest that observations were performed in the back-scatter mode in this configuration and not in the planned forward-scatter mode. Deeper analysis and longer data sets are, however, necessary to calibrate the observation system and this will

the lunar environment associated with larger lunar impactors, but also provides statistical data for verification and improving meteoroid prediction models. Current meteoroid models indicate that the Moon is struck by a sporadic meteoroid with a mass greater than 1 kg over 260 times per year. This number is very uncertain since observations for objects in this mass range are few. Factors of several times, higher or lower, are easily possible. Meteor showers are also present to varying degrees at certain times of the year. The Earth experiences meteor showers when encountering the debris left behind by comets, which is also the case with 2 the Moon. During such times, the rate of shower meteoroids can greatly exceed that of the sporadic background rate for larger meteoroids. Looking for meteor shower impacts on the Moon at about the same time as they occur on Earth will yield important data that can be fed into meteor shower forecasting models, which can then be used to predict times of greater meteoroid hazard on the Moon. The Geminids are one such meteor shower of interest. The Geminids are a major meteor shower that occur in December with a peak intensity occurring usually during the 13th and 14th of the month and appearing to come from a radiant in the constellation Gemini. The Geminids are interesting in that the parent body of the debris stream is an asteroid, which along with the Quadrantids, are the only major meteor showers not originating from a comet. The Geminids parent body, 3200 Phaethon, is about 5 km in diameter and has an orbit that has a 22deg inclination which intersects the main asteroid belt and has a perihelion less than half of Mercury's perihelion distance. Thus, its orbit crosses those of Mars, Earth, Venus, and Mercury. The Geminid debris stream is by far the most massive as compared to the others. When the Earth passes through the stream in mid-December, a peak intensity of approx. equal 120 meteors per hour can be seen. Because of the

The meteor radar measurements obtained at Cachoeira Paulista (22.7°S), Brazil, have been used to study a possible relationship between meteor echo height variations and solar flux during solar cycle 23. A good concordance between the normalized values of the annual mean of the meteor peak heights and F10.7 solar radio flux and Mg_II solar indexes have been observed during declining phase of the solar cycle 23. After eliminating the solar activity influence, the annual mean of the meteor echo peak heights showed a linear decrease of 30 m/year when Mg_II solar index is used and 38 m/year when F10.7 solar radio flux is used. When the trend is eliminated the relationship between meteor peak heights and F10.7 solar flux indicate a trend of 672 m/100 sfu (sfu-solar flux unit). The meteor amplitude signals and the decay time drops after mid-2004, which may be attributed to the decreasing of the electron density in the meteor trails. The meteor echo peak height decrease has been interpreted as being caused by a reduction in air density in the upper atmosphere.

The PMN-Portuguese Meteor Network has two new video meteor detecting systems at OLA- Observartório do Lago Alqueva, situated at the South East Portuguese territory with a pristine night sky and more than 290 clear nights each year.

The authors present previously published data from studies of the amplitude time characteristics of the echo signals from underdense meteor trails analyzed by nonlinear optimization logarithms, and they use these results to confirm the hypothesis that small meteor particles experience significant braking in the earth's atmosphere

A complex of techniques made at the Astrophysical Institute of Academy of Science for the determination of coordinates, heights, radians and velocities of meteors and for research in physics of meteors and upper atmosphere is described. Brief data's on the work of the complex are given

The NASA Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) is the only US government agency tasked with analyzing meteors of public interest. When queried about a meteor observed over the United States, the MEO must respond with a characterization of the trajectory, orbit, and size within a few hours. Using observations from meteor networks like the NASA All Sky Fireball Network or the Southern Ontario Meteor Network, such a characterization is often easy. If found, casual recordings from the public and stationary web cameras can be used to roughly analyze a meteor if the camera's location can be identified and its imagery calibrated. This technique was used with great success in the analysis of the Chelyabinsk meteorite fall. But if the event is outside meteor network coverage, if an insufficient number of videos are found, or if the imagery cannot be geolocated or calibrated, a timely assessment can be difficult if not impossible. In this situation, visual reports made by eyewitnesses may be the only resource available. This has led to the development of a tool to quickly calculate crude meteor trajectories from eyewitness reports made to the American Meteor Society. The output is illustrated in Figure 1. A description of the tool, example case studies, and a comparison to ground truth data observed by the NASA All Sky Fireball Network will be presented.

Methane plumes in the martian atmosphere have been detected using Earth-based spectroscopy, the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer on the ESA Mars Express mission, and the NASA Mars Science Laboratory. The methane's origin remains a mystery, with proposed sources including volcanism, exogenous sources like impacts and interplanetary dust, aqueous alteration of olivine in the presence of carbonaceous material, release from ancient deposits of methane clathrates, and/or biological activity. To date, none of these phenomena have been found to reliably correlate with the detection of methane plumes. An additional source exists, however: meteor showers could generate martian methane via UV pyrolysis of carbon-rich infall material. We find a correlation between the dates of Mars/cometary orbit encounters and detections of methane on Mars. We hypothesize that cometary debris falls onto Mars during these interactions, depositing freshly disaggregated meteor shower material in a regional concentration. The material generates methane via UV photolysis, resulting in a localized "plume" of short-lived methane.

During the IAU General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2009, the members of Commission 22 established the Working Group on Meteor Shower Nomenclature, from what was formerly the Task Group on Meteor Shower Nomenclature. The Task Group had completed its mission to propose a first list of established meteor showers that could receive officially names. At the business meeting of Commission 22 the list of 64 established showers was approved and consequently officially accepted by the IAU. A two-step process is adopted for showers to receive an official name from the IAU: i) before publication, all new showers discussed in the literature are first added to the Working List of Meteor Showers, thereby receiving a unique name, IAU number and three-letter code; ii) all showers which come up to the verification criterion are selected for inclusion in the List of Established Meteor Showers, before being officially named at the next IAU General Assembly.

We summarize the state of the art of a program of UV observations from space of meteor phenomena, a secondary objective of the JEM-EUSO international collaboration. Our preliminary analysis indicates that JEM-EUSO, taking advantage of its large FOV and good sensitivity, should be able to detect meteors down to absolute magnitude close to 7. This means that JEM-EUSO should be able to record a statistically significant flux of meteors, including both sporadic ones, and events produced by different meteor streams. Being unaffected by adverse weather conditions, JEM-EUSO can also be a very important facility for the detection of bright meteors and fireballs, as these events can be detected even in conditions of very high sky background. In the case of bright events, moreover, exhibiting some persistence of the meteor train, preliminary simulations show that it should be possible to exploit the motion of the ISS itself and derive at least a rough 3D reconstruction of the meteor trajectory. Moreover, the observing strategy developed to detect meteors may also be applied to the detection of nuclearites, exotic particles whose existence has been suggested by some theoretical investigations. Nuclearites are expected to move at higher velocities than meteoroids, and to exhibit a wider range of possible trajectories, including particles moving upward after crossing the Earth. Some pilot studies, including the approved Mini-EUSO mission, a precursor of JEM-EUSO, are currently operational or in preparation. We are doing simulations to assess the performance of Mini-EUSO for meteor studies, while a few meteor events have been already detected using the ground-based facility EUSO-TA.

Full Text Available We present in situ observations of meteoric smoke particles (MSP obtained during three sounding rocket flights in December 2010 in the frame of the final campaign of the Norwegian-German ECOMA project (ECOMA = Existence and Charge state Of meteoric smoke particles in the Middle Atmosphere. The flights were conducted before, at the maximum activity, and after the decline of the Geminids which is one of the major meteor showers over the year. Measurements with the ECOMA particle detector yield both profiles of naturally charged particles (Faraday cup measurement as well as profiles of photoelectrons emitted by the MSPs due to their irradiation by photons of a xenon-flash lamp. The column density of negatively charged MSPs decreased steadily from flight to flight which is in agreement with a corresponding decrease of the sporadic meteor flux recorded during the same period. This implies that the sporadic meteors are a major source of MSPs while the additional influx due to the shower meteors apparently did not play any significant role. Surprisingly, the profiles of photoelectrons are only partly compatible with this observation: while the photoelectron current profiles obtained during the first and third flight of the campaign showed a qualitatively similar behaviour as the MSP charge density data, the profile from the second flight (i.e., at the peak of the Geminids shows much smaller photoelectron currents. This may tentatively be interpreted as a different MSP composition (and, hence, different photoelectric properties during this second flight, but at this stage we are not in a position to conclude that there is a cause and effect relation between the Geminids and this observation. Finally, the ECOMA particle detector used during the first and third flight employed three instead of only one xenon flash lamp where each of the three lamps used for one flight had a different window material resulting in different cut off wavelengths for these

Full Text Available A Fresnel transform technique has been developed at Adelaide to analyse radar meteor echoes detected in the transverse mode. The genesis for this technique was the study of the structure of the scattering ionization immediately behind the head of the trail, in order to deduce the degree of fragmentation of the ablating meteoroid. The technique has been remarkably successful in not only giving insight into the fragmentation of meteoroids, but also revealing other significant features of the trails including diffusion, lateral motion of the trail during formation due to wind drift, and phase of the scattered signal in the vicinity of the head of the trail. A serendipitous outcome of the analysis is the measurement of the speed and deceleration of the meteoroid producing the trail to a precision far exceeding that available from any other method applied to transverse scatter data. Examples of the outcomes of the technique applied to meteor echoes obtained with a 54MHz narrow beam radar are presented.

Monitoring the cleanup and closure of contaminated sites requires extensive data acquisition, processing, and storage. At remote sites, the task of monitoring often becomes problematical due to the lack of site infrastructure (i.e., electrical power lines, telephone lines, etc.). MSE Technology Applications, Inc. (MSE) has designed an economical and efficient remote monitoring system that will handle large amounts of data; process the data, if necessary; and transmit this data over long distances. Design criteria MSE considered during the development of the remote monitoring system included: the ability to handle multiple, remote sampling points with independent sampling frequencies; robust (i.e., less susceptible to moisture, heat, and cold extremes); independent of infrastructure; user friendly; economical; and easy to expand system capabilities. MSE installed and tested a prototype system at the Mike Mansfield Advanced Technology Center (MMATC), Butte, Montana, in June 2005. The system MSE designed and installed consisted of a 'master' control station and two remote 'slave' stations. Data acquired at the two slave stations were transmitted to the master control station, which then transmits a complete data package to a ground station using meteor burst technology. The meteor burst technology has no need for hardwired land-lines or man-made satellites. Instead, it uses ionized particles in the Earth's atmosphere to propagate a radio signal. One major advantage of the system is that it can be configured to accept data from virtually any type of device, so long as the signal from the device can be read and recorded by a standard data-logger. In fact, MSE has designed and built an electrical resistivity monitoring system that will be powered and controlled by the meteor burst system components. As sites move through the process of remediation and eventual closure, monitoring provides data vital to the successful long term management of the site. The remote

Interferometric techniques are commonly used in all-sky meteor radar systems for meteor location determination Essentially interferometric techniques use the phase information recorded from different receiving antennas to estimate the elevation and azimuth of the meteors Prior efforts have been made to determine an antenna geometry that improves the performance of meteor radar systems For example Hocking and Thayaparan 1997 used four antennas typically spaced by 1 5 to 3 wavelengths to locate the meteors Jones 1992 and Hocking 1997 presented an antenna geometry using a 5 element array with minimum antenna spacing of 2 wavelengths to estimate the direction of arrival DOA of the meteors By spacing the antennas more than 2 wavelength apart these array geometries were successful in reducing the electromagnetic coupling effect between the antennas which can introduce errors in the estimation of meteor locations Without a clear metric for performance it is difficult to compare geometries In this work a MATLAB planar antenna array package mainly designed for visualization of the direction of arrival DOA estimation performance of arbitrary user designed antenna array is presented Performance comparisons of nominal array geometries are also provided Several metrics are available in this package in an effort to provide the user with a comprehensive examination of an array s performance The metrics are the Cramer-Rao bound CRB which is the minimum variance that can be obtained for any unbiased estimator the co-array the

It is often necessary to draw a division between meteor showers and the sporadic meteor complex in order to study these components of the meteoroid environment. Meteor showers persist for less than a season and are composed of members with a greater-than-average degree of orbital similarity. The level of orbital similarity is often quantified using so-called D-parameters; a D-parameter cutoff may be employed to define or extract a shower. Depending on the study, this cutoff value may be chosen based on the size of the data-set, the percentage of sporadic meteors within the data-set, or the inclination of the shower in question. We argue that the cutoff value should also reject the strength of the shower compared to the local sporadic background. We therefore present a method for determining, on a per-shower basis, the D-parameter cutoff that limits the false-positive rate to an acceptable percentage. If the false-positive rate exceeds this percentage regardless of cutoff value, we deem the shower to be undetectable in our data. We apply this method to optical meteor observations from the NASA All-Sky and Southern Ontario Meteor Networks and present the detectable meteor showers and their characteristics.

This script describes the structure and the separated modules of the software package METEOR for the statistical analysis of meteorological data series. It contains a systematic description of the subroutines of METEOR and, also, of the required shape for input and output files. The original version of METEOR have been developed by Ph.D. Elena Palomo, CIEMAT-IER, GIMASE. It is built by linking programs and routines written in FORTRAN 77 and it adds thc graphical capabilities of GNUPLOT. The shape of this toolbox was designed following the criteria of modularity, flexibility and agility criteria. All the input, output and analysis options are structured in three main menus: i) the first is aimed to evaluate the quality of the data set; ii) the second is aimed for pre-processing of the data; and iii) the third is aimed towards the statistical analyses and for creating the graphical outputs. Actually the information about METEOR is constituted by three documents written in spanish: 1) METEOR v1.0: User's guide; 2) METEOR v1.0: A usage example; 3) METEOR v 1.0: Design and structure of the software package. (Author)

An exact analytical solution of the atmospheric meteoroid single-body problem is presented expressing the distance along the trajectory as a function of time, which yields a least-square fit of the observed trajectory, and analytical expressions for the velocity at the point of maximum deceleration are derived. These results are used to determine the ablation coefficient from observations. These methods are applied to 17 Prairie Network fireballs observed below the maximum deceleration point and to the Innisfree fireball, and the results are found to be superior to the ones obtained with the usual interpolation formula. A model of luminous efficiencies for small velocities and for masses up to several hundred grams based on data on Innisfree and on artificial rocketry meteors is proposed and applied to separate the shape-density coefficient from the meteoroid mass.

We have developed a set of methods to detect meteor light traces captured by all-sky CCD cameras. Operating at small automatic observatories (stations), these cameras create a network spread over a large territory. Image data coming from these stations are merged in one central node. Since a vast amount of data is collected by the stations in a single night, robotic storage and analysis are essential to processing. The proposed methodology is adapted to data from a network of automatic stations equipped with digital fish-eye cameras and includes data capturing, preparation, pre-processing, analysis, and finally recognition of objects in time sequences. In our experiments we utilized real observed data from two stations.

A number of meteor showers - the Ursids, Perseids, Leonids, eta Aquariids, Orionids, Draconids, and Andromedids - are predicted to exhibit increased rates in 2018. However, no major storms are predicted, and none of these enhanced showers outranks the typical activity of the Arietids, Southern delta Aquariids, and Geminids at small particle sizes. The MSFC stream model1 predicts higher than usual activity for the Ursid meteor shower in December 2018. While we expect an increase in activity, rates will fall short of the shower's historical outbursts in 1945 and 1986 when the zenithal hourly rate (ZHR) exceeded 100. Instead, the expected rate for 2018 is around 70. The Perseids, Leonids, eta Aquariids, and Orionids are expected to show mild enhancements over their baseline activity level in 2018. In the case of the Perseids, we may see an additional peak in activity a few hours before the traditional peak, but we do not expect activity levels as high as those seen in 2016 and 2017. The eta Aquariids and Orionids, which belong to a single meteoroid stream generated by comet 1P/Halley, are thought to have a 12-year activity cycle and are currently increasing in activity from year to year. Finally, we may see minor outbursts of the Draconids and Andromedids in 2018. Both showers have been difficult to model and have produced unexpected outbursts in recent years (the Draconids in 2012 and the Andromedids in 2011 and 2013). The Andromedids may produce two peaks, both of which are listed in Table 2. This document is designed to supplement spacecraft risk assessments that incorporate an annual averaged meteor shower flux (as is the case with all NASA meteoroid models). Results are presented relative to this baseline and are weighted to a constant kinetic energy. Two showers - the Daytime Arietids (ARI) and the Geminids (GEM) - attain flux levels approaching that of the baseline meteoroid environment for 0.1-cm-equivalent meteoroids. This size is the threshold for structural

Large meteors (or superbolides [Ceplecha Z, et al. (1999) Meteoroids 1998:37-54]), although rare in recorded history, give sobering testimony to civilization's inherent vulnerability. A not-so-subtle reminder came on the morning of February 15, 2013, when a large meteoroid hurtled into the Earth's atmosphere, forming a superbolide near the city of Chelyabinsnk, Russia, ∼1,500 km east of Moscow, Russia [Ivanova MA, et al. (2013) Abstracts of the 76th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society, 5366]. The object exploded in the stratosphere, and the ensuing shock wave blasted the city of Chelyabinsk, damaging structures and injuring hundreds. Details of trajectory are important for determining its specific source, the likelihood of future events, and potential mitigation measures. Earth-viewing environmental satellites can assist in these assessments. Here we examine satellite observations of the Chelyabinsk superbolide debris trail, collected within minutes of its entry. Estimates of trajectory are derived from differential views of the significantly parallax-displaced [e.g., Hasler AF (1981) Bull Am Meteor Soc 52:194-212] debris trail. The 282.7 ± 2.3° azimuth of trajectory, 18.5 ± 3.8° slope to the horizontal, and 17.7 ± 0.5 km/s velocity derived from these satellites agree well with parameters inferred from the wealth of surface-based photographs and amateur videos. More importantly, the results demonstrate the general ability of Earth-viewing satellites to provide valuable insight on trajectory reconstruction in the more likely scenario of sparse or nonexistent surface observations.

Full Text Available Two nearly identical meteor radars were operated at Koto Tabang (0.20° S, 100.32° E, West Sumatra, and Biak (1.17° S, 136.10° E, West Papua, in Indonesia, separated by approximately 4000 km in longitude on the Equator. The zonal and meridional momentum flux, u′w′ and v′w′, where u, v, and w are the eastward, northward, and vertical wind velocity components, respectively, were estimated at 86 to 94 km altitudes using the meteor radar data by applying a method proposed by Hocking (2005. The observed u′w′ at the two sites agreed reasonably well at 86, 90, and 94 km during the observation periods when the data acquisition rate was sufficiently large enough. Variations in v′w′ were consistent between 86, 90, and 94 km altitudes at both sites. The climatological variation in the monthly averaged u′w′ and v′w′ was investigated using the long-term radar data at Koto Tabang from November 2002 to November 2013. The seasonal variations in u′w′ and v′w′ showed a repeatable semiannual and annual cycles, respectively. u′w′ showed eastward values in February–April and July–September and v′w′ was northward in June to August at 90–94 km, both of which were generally anti-phase with the mean zonal and meridional winds, having the same periodicity. Our results suggest the usefulness of the Hocking method.

We present a meteor observation system based on imaging CCD cameras, wide-field optics and a diffraction grating. This system is composed of two independent spectrographs with different configurations, which allows us to capture images of fireballs and meteors with several fields of view and sensitivities. The complete set forms a small autonomous observatory, comprised of a sealed box with a sliding roof, weather station and computers for data storing and reduction. Since 2014, several meteors have been studied using this facility, such as the Alcalá la Real fireball recorded on 30 September 2016.

This paper studies Meteor which is a JavaScript full-stack framework to develop interactive single page web applications. Meteor allows building web applications entirely in JavaScript. Meteor uses Blaze, React or AngularJS as a view layer and Node.js and MongoDB as a back-end. The main purpose of this study is to compare the performance of Blaze and React. A multi-user Blaze and React web applications with similar HTML and CSS were developed. Both applications were deployed on Heroku’s w...

Asteroid 3552 Don Quixote (1983 SA) orbits the Sun on an orbit that resembles that of a short-period comet. This, together with its recently observed cometary activity, makes it a good candidate for a parent body of a meteor shower. Model calculations show that the particles originated from Don Quixote pass close enough to Earth orbit to search for a meteor shower activity. Corresponding meteor showers were found in CAMS (Rudawska and Jenniskens, 2014) and EDMOND (Kornoš et al., 2014) video observations. The κ Lyrids and August μ Draconids (IAU#464 and IAU#470, respectively), a similarly inclined stream active in the summer, are associated with 3552 Don Quixote.

The use of meteoric 10Be as a tool to understand long term landscape behavior is becoming increasingly popular. Due its high residence time, meteoric 10Be allows in principle to investigate in situ erosion rates over time scales exceeding the period studied with classical approaches such as 137Cs. The use of meteoric 10Be strongly contributes to the traditional interpretation of sedimentary archives which cannot be unequivocally coupled to sediment production and could provide biased information over longer time scales (Sadler, 1981). So far, meteoric 10Be has successfully been used in geochemical fingerprinting of sediments, to date soil profiles, to assess soil residence times and to quantify downslope soil fluxes using accumulated 10Be inventories along a hill slope. However, less attention is given to the potential use of the tracer to directly asses human induced changes in soil fluxes through deforestation, cultivation and reforestation. A good understanding of the processes governing the distribution of meteoric 10Be both within the soil profile and at landscape scale is essential before meteoric 10Be can be successfully applied to assess human impact. We developed a spatially explicit 2D-model (Be2D) in order to gain insight in meteoric 10Be movement along a hillslope that is subject to human disturbance. Be2D integrates both horizontal soil fluxes and vertical meteoric 10Be movement throughout the soil prolife. Horizontal soil fluxes are predicted using (i) well studied geomorphical laws for natural erosion and soil formation as well as (ii) human accelerated water and tillage erosion. Vertical movement of meteoric 10Be throughout the soil profile is implemented by inserting depth dependent retardation calculated using experimentally determined partition coefficients (Kd). The model was applied to different environments such as (i) the Belgian loess belt, characterized by aeolian deposits enriched in inherited meteoric 10Be, (ii) highly degraded and stony

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — SAGE III Meteor-3M L2 Lunar Event Species Profiles are Level 2 data files containing all the species products for a single lunar event. The Stratospheric Aerosol and...

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — SAGE III Meteor-3M L2 Solar Event Species Profiles are Level 2 data files containing all the species products for a single solar event. The Stratospheric Aerosol and...

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — SAGE III Meteor-3M L2 Solar Event Species Profiles are Level 2 data files containing all the species products for a single solar event. The Stratospheric Aerosol and...

A problem of a meteoric particle motion with provision for its nonstationary heating up and change of a form due to evaporation in rarefied layers of the Earth, Mars and Venus atmospheres is investigated. Numerical calculations are performed for a series of stone particles with sizes of approximately 1 mm at initial inlet velocity of 15 km/s 0 <= 60 km/s and inlet angles of 10-90 deg. The particle mass carrying away, temperature of particles, luminescence intensity, and meteoric trace electron concentration in successive time periods during the motion along the trajectory are determined. A comparison of the physical theory of met rites with the known approximate solutions and observations is conducted for the Earth atmosphere. Some peculiarities of meteoric particle destruction in different atmospheres are pointed out. Some methods of atmospheric parameter recovery according to observations of meteoric particle motion are proposed on the base of calculated dependences

Meteoroid impacts are capable of damaging spacecraft and potentially ending missions. In order to help spacecraft programs mitigate these risks, NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) monitors and predicts meteoroid activity. Temporal variations in near-Earth space are described by the MEO's annual meteor shower forecast, which is based on both past shower activity and model predictions. The MEO and the University of Western Ontario operate sister networks of all-sky meteor cameras. These networks have been in operation for more than 7 years and have computed more than 20,000 meteor orbits. Using these data, we conduct a survey of meteor shower activity in the "fireball" size regime using DBSCAN. For each shower detected in our survey, we compute the date of peak activity and characterize the growth and decay of the shower's activity before and after the peak. These parameters are then incorporated into the annual forecast for an improved treatment of annual activity.

Heterogeneous nucleation of crystalline nitric acid hydrates in polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) enhances ozone depletion. However, the identity and mode of action of the particles responsible for nucleation remains unknown. It has been suggested that meteoric material may trigger nucleation of nitric acid trihydrate (NAT, or other nitric acid phases), but this has never been quantitatively demonstrated in the laboratory. Meteoric material is present in two forms in the stratosphere: smoke that results from the ablation and re-condensation of vapours, and fragments that result from the break-up of meteoroids entering the atmosphere. Here we show that analogues of both materials have a capacity to nucleate nitric acid hydrates. In combination with estimates from a global model of the amount of meteoric smoke and fragments in the polar stratosphere we show that meteoric material probably accounts for NAT observations in early season polar stratospheric clouds in the absence of water ice.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — SAGE III Meteor-3M L2 Lunar Event Species Profiles are Level 2 data files containing all the species products for a single lunar event. The Stratospheric Aerosol and...

Full Text Available By measuring fading times of radar echoes from underdense meteor trails, it is possible to deduce the ambipolar diffusivities of the ions responsible for these radar echoes. It could be anticipated that these diffusivities increase monotonically with height akin to neutral viscosity. In practice, this is not always the case. Here, we investigate the capability of neutral turbulence to affect the meteor trail diffusion rate.

The correlation between the total ozone and activity of major meteor streams, such as the Perseids, Geminids, Leonids and Orionids, has been found using the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) measurements of the global ozone distribution over the periods 1978 - 1993 and 1996 - 2001. The autocorrelation analysis of the total ozone time series for the period of about 20 years has confirmed the existence of regular changes in the ozone levels at the peaks of meteor shower activity. It has been established that TO decreases after the dates of peak activity of meteor streams (e.g. the Perseids) or during the whole periods of meteor shower activity (e.g. the Geminids, Orionids and Leonids). The analysis of the total ozone distribution (in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres), as well as the local distribution of ozone (over the selected surface area of several hundred square kilometres), was performed during the Leonid meteor shower in 1999. The atmospheric zones for which the ozone distribution pattern can be described as a result of interaction between the meteor shower material and the ozone layer were localised by applying the TOMS data. Such zones correspond to the regions where the highest Leonid activity has been observed. According to the radar observations (conducted in Kazan, Russian Federation), three activity maxima of the 1988 Geminid shower were reported: on the nights of 7th, 12th and 14th December, 1988. The TO decrease was observed on the same dates. Thus, the analysis of the TO changes during the periods of intense meteor shower's activity enables to preliminary assess the maximum overall decline in the total ozone concentration which makes about 5 DU over two weeks. From the results obtained it can be inferred that the ozone layer can be used as an indicator of the interaction between the meteoric material and the Earth's atmosphere.

Over 18000 meteors were recorded by the IMO Video Meteor Network cameras during more than 7100 hours of observing time during 2017 June. The June Bootids were not detectable this year. Nearly 50 Daytime Arietids were recorded in 2017, and a first flux density profile for this shower in the optical domain is calculated, using video data from the period 2011-2017. Effective collection area of video cameras is discussed in more detail.

The method of estimation for the change of the local spatial density of meteor streams due to planetary perturbations is worked out. An evolution of the density of some meteoric streams along their orbits is studied by taking into consideration the perturbations of Jupiter. It is shown that either decrease or considerable temporary increase of the local density caused by planetary perturbantions is possible. The examples of stable periodic variations of the stream's density are given

The meteor stream associated with Comet Halley has been studied by the author on the basis of a long series of visual and radar observations during the Eta Aquarid and Orionid meteor shower periods. It appeared that the stream exhibited inhomogeneities in both directions, across it and along the orbit. A stable zone of higher density and variable filaments have been detected. The total mass of the stream was determined at 5x10 14 kg. (Auth.)

Full Text Available By measuring fading times of radar echoes from underdense meteor trails, it is possible to deduce the ambipolar diffusivities of the ions responsible for these radar echoes. It could be anticipated that these diffusivities increase monotonically with height akin to neutral viscosity. In practice, this is not always the case. Here, we investigate the capability of neutral turbulence to affect the meteor trail diffusion rate.Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics; turbulence

On the bases of results simultaneous photographic and radio echo observations, the results complex radar and television observations of meteors and also results of laboratory modeling of processes of a luminescence and ionization, correlation between of luminous intensity Ip to linear electronic density q from of velocities and chemical structure are investigated. It is received that by increasing value of velocities of meteors and decrease of nuclear weight of substance of particles, lg Ip/q decreased more than one order.

We report broadband 3-5.5 µm detections of two Leonid meteors observed during the 1998 Leonid Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign. Each meteor was detected at only one position along their trajectory just prior to the point of maximum light emission. We describe the particular aspects of the Aerospace Corp. Mid-wave Infra-Red Imaging Spectrograph (MIRIS) developed for the observation of short duration transient events that impact its ability to detect Leonid meteors. This instrument had its first deployment during the 1998 Leonid MAC. We infer from our observations that the mid-wave IR light curves of two Leonid meteors differed from the visible light curve. At the points of detection, the infrared emission in the MIRIS passband was 25 +/- 4 times that at optical wavelengths for both meteors. In addition, we find an upper limit of 800 K for the solid body temperature of the brighter meteor we observed, at the point in the trajectory where we made our mid-wave IR detection.

Full Text Available A bright meteor with an apparent magnitude of -18 was seen over large parts of southern Africa at ~23:00 South African Standard Time on 21 November 2009. Here we discuss the eye-witness accounts related to the meteor as well as the seismic signals generated by the meteor's passage through the atmosphere as detected by the Mussina seismograph station forming part of the South African National Seismograph Network. Two signals were identified on the seismogram; the first arrival is interpreted as a precursor coupled seismic wave and the second, which arrived ~138 s after the first, as a directly coupled airwave. The meteor is thought to have entered the atmosphere close to Mussina shortly before 22:55.06 local time, from where it proceeded in a westerly to northwesterly direction with an elevation angle not exceeding 43°. Our results presented here dispel the beliefs of many observers who thought that the meteor must have made landfall very close to their localities. In addition, this contribution documents the first instance of meteor-related seismic signals recorded by the South African National Seismograph Network.

Analyses of the influence of solar activity on sporadic meteor counts based on visual and radar meteor observations present rather contradictory results, indicating a possible variation of the sporadic meteor counts with a solar activity, with the maximum in observed meteor rates occurring from zero up to about five years after the solar activity maximum. With this perspective, in the present paper observations of the sporadic meteor background, obtained by a forward-scatter radio system for meteor observation operating along the Bologna (Italy)-Modra (Slovakia) baseline in 1996-2007, are analysed and discussed. The activity curves of all echoes and their variations indicate a correlation with solar activity in the 23. solar cycle represented by the solar relative number R (corr. coef. 0.71), as well as with the solar coronal index C1 (corr. coef. 0.73). The mass distribution exponent s and its variations (with corr. coef. against R and C1, 0.12 and 0.25, respectively) does not show a correlation consistent with solar activity and, from the viewpoint of s, suggest the existence of a relatively stable population of sporadic background meteoroids in the surroundings of the Earth's orbit during the investigated period.

Current knowledge of the Solar System, with a particular emphasis on the systems of interplanetary objects, is reviewed, and the theory of meteors and the reflection of radio waves from meteoric ionization is then discussed. A description of the meteor radar is given and a method of calibrating the antenna beam is developed. The main project comprises two parts: A general survey of the radar echo-rate for 20 major and minor meteor streams and the sporadic meteor background, conducted from Grahamstown over the period 1986 April to 1988 January, is described. Definite shower activity was observed for all of the major and some of the minor showers. A method of recovering meteor radiant distributions from the distribution of echo direction was developed. A technique of compensating for possible distortions of the resulting radiant maps, which may arise due to the anisotropic antenna beam was devised. This involved a system of echo-weighting. Radiant maps which showed considerably less distortion were obtained without the weighting procedure. It is concluded that, although the method in its present form introduces spurious features into the maps, the principle is sound and should eventually be refined to produce the desired compensation. 71 refs., 165 figs., 2 tabs

Three meteor radars of the SkiYmet type have been installed in Brazil covering low, tropical and sub-tropical latitudes. The first at Cachoeira Paulista(22.7 S, 45.0 W) started in march 1999, the second at Cariri(7.4 S, 36.5 W) in May, 2005, and the last one at Santa Maria( 29.7 S, 53.8 W) in December, 2005. Coincident periods of measurements permitted the determination of the Mean Winds, Planetary Waves, Tides and Gravity Wave Variances for these different latitudes and their comparison. Amplitude and phase structures are similar for Cachoeira Paulista and Santa Maria, but differ from the near-equatorial site Cariri. Also the Lunar Semidiurnal Tides have been studied at the three sites for the period January 2005 to December 2008. Amplitudes between 1 and 8 m/s were determined with the meridional winds being larger than the zonal in the three sites. Wind measurements have been used also as subsidiary data in the studies involving the sodium layer and the mesospheric airglow though lidar, photometers and imagers.

Three meteor radars of the SkiYmet type have been installed in Brazil covering low, tropical and sub-tropical latitudes. The first at Cachoeira Paulista(22.7° S, 45.0° W) started in march 1999, the second at Cariri(7.4° S, 36.5° W) in May, 2005, and the last one at Santa Maria( 29.7° S, 53.8° W) in December, 2005. Data obtained in coincident periods of measurements permitted the determination of the Mean Winds, Planetary Waves, Tides and Gravity Wave Variances for these different latitudes and the comparison of them. Amplitude and phase structures are similar for Cachoeira Paulista and Santa Maria, but differ from the near-equatorial site Cariri. Also the Lunar Semidiurnal Tides have been studied at the three sites for the period January 2005 to December 2008. Amplitudes between 1 and 8 m/s were determined with the meridional winds being larger than the zonal in the three sites. It is found that northern hemisphere SSW’s affect the QTDW , and the Solar and Lunar tides at southern low latitudes but the 2002 southern hemisphere major SSW had a small effect in tropical MLT. Wind measurements have also been used to study Kelvin waves, terdiurnal Tide and QTDW variability. In this presentation we summarize the main results obtained.

The aim of the PRISMA project is to develop the Italian participation in a network of European observing facilities whose primary targets are bright meteors (the so-called bolides and fireballs) and the recovery of meteorites. Several all-sky cameras have been recently installed in France (FRIPON project), and we propose to do the same in Italy, interconnecting the Italian network with the French one. Such a network is of great interest for the studies of interplanetary bodies and the dynamical and physical evolution of the population of small bodies of the Solar System and for the studies of collected meteorites. Those eventually recovered will be classified and investigated from the petrologic, genetic and evolutionary points of view, analyzed for their spectral characteristics and compared with known asteroids. The possibility to measure the radioactivity of samples shortly after the fall using gamma-ray spectrometers available in the Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino laboratories, will allow us to reveal the presence of short-lived cosmogenic radioisotopes. PRISMA is also very suitable for the purposes of atmospheric studies. This includes the statistics of cloud coverage and lightning frequencies, as well as the comparison of the optical depth measured using satellites and PRISMA cameras.

We present a thorough validation of a computational approach to predict infrasonic signatures of centimeter-sized meteoroids. We assume that the energy deposition along the meteor trail is dominated by atmospheric drag and simulate the steady, inviscid flow of air in thermochemical equilibrium to compute the meteoroid's near-body pressure signature. This signature is then propagated through a stratified and windy atmosphere to the ground using a methodology adapted from aircraft sonic-boom analysis. An assessment of the numerical accuracy of the near field and the far field solver is presented. The results show that when the source of the signature is the cylindrical Mach-cone, the simulations closely match the observations. The prediction of the shock rise-time, the zero-peak amplitude of the waveform, and the duration of the positive pressure phase are consistently within 10% of the measurements. Uncertainty in the shape of the meteoroid results in a poorer prediction of the trailing part of the waveform. Overall, our results independently verify energy deposition estimates deduced from optical observations.

Meteorism, abdominal spasms, diarrhea, casually obstipation, flatulence and nausea are symptoms of fructose malabsorption (FIT) and/or lactose intolerance (LIT), but are also symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Therefore these diseases should be considered primarily in patients with digestive complaints. For diagnosis an H(2)-breath test is used.In 1,935 patients (526 m, 1,409 f) a fructose intolerance test and in 1,739 patients (518 m,1,221 f) a lactose intolerance test was done.FIT is found more frequently than LIT (57 versus 52 % in adults (p intolerance (HIT). Headache (ca. 10 %), fatigue (ca. 5 %) and dizziness (ca. 3 %) may occur after the test, irrespective whether the test was positive or negative.In more than 2/3 of patients a diet reduced in fructose or lactose may lead to improvement or remission of these metabolic disorders. IBS, which is often correlated with FIT (183/221 patients = 83 %), can be improved by relevant but also not relevant diets indicating that irritable bowel disease seems to be caused primarily by psychological disorders.

In theory, a meteor shower can be distinguished from the sporadic meteor background by its short duration and orbital similarity. In practice, the duration and strength of a shower and the orbital similarity between its constituent meteors varies widely between showers. Further complicating matters is the anisotropy of the sporadic background. These combined factors make it difficult to distinguish between shower and sporadic meteors with a single, static set of criteria. The orbital similarity, or D-, parameters are often used to assess the relationship between meteors [1,2,3]. The more dissimilar two orbits are, the higher their computed D value will be; generally, meteors are considered related if their D-parameter falls below some cutoff value [4]. However, this approach will include some sporadic meteors, and when a weak shower lies near a sporadic source, the false positive rate for shower association can be quite high. Additionally, this cutoff approach does not assess whether the shower itself is significant. We present a method for using D-parameters to extract showers from a dataset that automatically takes shower strength into account and tests for significance [5]. We accomplish this by calculating the false positive rate for shower association using "shower analogs," which are identical to the original shower except in solar longitude. This method is applied to a set of more than 30,000 meteors detected by the NASA All-Sky Fireball Network [6] and the Southern Ontario Meteor Network (SOMN) [7]. We previously detected 29 showers in our data using this method [5]; now, with another year of data, we have several additional detections. Figure 1 presents one example: the 2016 July gamma Draconid outburst. There are several benefits to using our method. First, it provides a test of shower significance (see Fig. 2 for an example of a non-detection). Second, it quantifies the probability that a meteor belongs to a given shower as a function of D

Ten years ago, the METEOR tool was developed to simulate treatment-to-target and create an international research database. The development of the METEOR tool and database, research opportunities and future perspectives are described. The METEOR tool is a free, online, internationally available tool in which daily practice visits of all rheumatoid arthritis patients visiting a rheumatologist can be registered. In the tool, disease characteristics, patient- and physician-reported outcomes and prescribed treatment could be entered. These can be subsequently displayed in powerful graphics, facilitating treatment decisions and patient-physician interactions. An upload facility is also available, by which data from local electronic health record systems or registries can be integrated into the METEOR database. This is currently being actively used in, among other countries, the Netherlands, Portugal and India. Since an increasing number of hospitals use electronic health record systems, the upload facility is being actively used by an increasing number of sites, enabling them to benefit from the benchmark and research opportunities of METEOR. Enabling a connection between local registries and METEOR is a well established but time-consuming process for which an IT-specialist of METEOR and the local registry are necessary. However, once this process has been finished, data can be uploaded regularly and relatively easily according to a pre-specified format. The METEOR database currently contains data from >39,000 patients and >200,000 visits, from 32 different countries and is ever increasing. Continuous efforts are being undertaken to increase the quality of data in the database. Since METEOR was founded 10 years ago, many rheumatologists worldwide have used the METEOR tool to follow-up their patients and improve the quality of care they provide to their patients. Combined with uploaded data, this has led to an extensive growth of the database. It now offers a unique

Cosmogenic nuclides have revolutionised our understanding of earth surface process rates. They have become one of the standard tools to quantify soil production by weathering, soil redistribution and erosion. Especially Beryllium-10 has gained much attention due to its long half-live and propensity to be relatively conservative in the landscape. The latter makes 10Be an excellent tool to assess denudation rates over the last 1000 to 100 × 103 years, bridging the anthropogenic and geological time scale. Nevertheless, the mobility of meteoric 10Be in soil systems makes translation of meteoric 10Be inventories into erosion and deposition rates difficult. Here we present a coupled soil hillslope model, Be2D, that is applied to synthetic and real topography to address the following three research questions. (i) What is the influence of vertical meteoric Be10 mobility, caused by chemical mobility, clay translocation and bioturbation, on its lateral redistribution over the soilscape, (ii) How does vertical mobility influence erosion rates and soil residence times inferred from meteoric 10Be inventories and (iii) To what extent can a tracer with a half-life of 1.36 Myr be used to distinguish between natural and human-disturbed soil redistribution rates? The model architecture of Be2D is designed to answer these research questions. Be2D is a dynamic model including physical processes such as soil formation, physical weathering, clay migration, bioturbation, creep, overland flow and tillage erosion. Pathways of meteoric 10Be mobility are simulated using a two step approach which is updated each timestep. First, advective and diffusive mobility of meteoric 10Be is simulated within the soil profile and second, lateral redistribution because of lateral soil fluxes is calculated. The performance and functionality of the model is demonstrated through a number of synthetic and real model runs using existing datasets of meteoric 10Be from case-studies in southeastern US. Brute

Over a million individually measured meteoroid orbits were collected with the Southern Argentina Agile MEteor Radar (SAAMER) between 2012-2015. This provides a robust statistical database to perform an initial orbital survey of meteor showers in the Southern Hemisphere via the application of a 3D wavelet transform. The method results in a composite year from all 4 years of data, enabling us to obtain an undisturbed year of meteor activity with more than one thousand meteors per day. Our automated meteor shower search methodology identified 58 showers. Of these showers, 24 were associated with previously reported showers from the IAU catalogue while 34 showers are new and not listed in the catalogue. Our searching method combined with our large data sample provides unprecedented accuracy in measuring meteor shower activity and description of shower characteristics in the Southern Hemisphere. Using simple modeling and clustering methods we also propose potential parent bodies for the newly discovered showers.

A budget of meteoric water (MW = river runoff, net precipitation minus evaporation, and glacial meltwater) over four regions of the Arctic Ocean is constructed using a simple box model, regional precipitation-evaporation estimates from reanalysis data sets, and estimates of import and export fluxes derived from the literature with a focus on the 2003-2008 period. The budget indicates an approximate/slightly positive balance between MW imports and exports (i.e., no change in storage); thus, the observed total freshwater increase observed during this time period likely resulted primarily from changes in non-MW freshwater components (i.e., increases in sea ice melt or Pacific water and/or a decrease in ice export). Further, our analysis indicates that the MW increase observed in the Canada Basin resulted from a spatial redistribution of MW over the Arctic Ocean. Mean residence times for MW were estimated for the Western Arctic (5-7 years), Eastern Arctic (3-4 years), and Lincoln Sea (1-2 years). The MW content over the Siberian shelves was estimated (˜14,000 km3) based on a residence time of 3.5 years. The MW content over the entire Arctic Ocean was estimated to be ≥44,000 km3. The MW export through Fram Strait consisted mostly of water from the Eastern Arctic (3,237 ± 1,370 km3 yr-1) whereas the export through the Canadian Archipelago was nearly equally derived from both the Western Arctic (1,182 ± 534 km3 yr-1) and Lincoln Sea (972 ± 391 km3 yr-1).

The chemistry of the cometary meteoroids was studied by closed circuit television observing systems. Vidicon cameras produce basic data on standard video tape and enable the recording of the spectra of faint shower meteors, consequently the chemical study is extended to smaller particles and we have a larger data bank than is available from the more conventional method of recording meteor spectra by photography. The two main problems in using video tape meteor spectrum records are: (1) the video tape recording has a much lower resolution than the photographic technique; (2) video tape is relatively new type of data storage in astronomy and the methods of quantitative photometry have not yet been fully developed in the various fields where video tape is used. The use of the most detailed photographic meteor spectra to calibrate the video tape records and to make positive identification of the more prominent chemical elements appearing in the spectra may solve the low resolution problem. Progress in the development of standard photometric techniques for the analysis of video tape records of meteor spectra is reported.

The aim of this paper is to propose the design and implementation of next-generation enterprise analytics platform developed at the Houston Methodist Hospital (HMH) system to meet the market and regulatory needs of the healthcare industry. For this goal, we developed an integrated clinical informatics environment, i.e., Methodist environment for translational enhancement and outcomes research (METEOR). The framework of METEOR consists of two components: the enterprise data warehouse (EDW) and a software intelligence and analytics (SIA) layer for enabling a wide range of clinical decision support systems that can be used directly by outcomes researchers and clinical investigators to facilitate data access for the purposes of hypothesis testing, cohort identification, data mining, risk prediction, and clinical research training. Data and usability analysis were performed on METEOR components as a preliminary evaluation, which successfully demonstrated that METEOR addresses significant niches in the clinical informatics area, and provides a powerful means for data integration and efficient access in supporting clinical and translational research. METEOR EDW and informatics applications improved outcomes, enabled coordinated care, and support health analytics and clinical research at HMH. The twin pressures of cost containment in the healthcare market and new federal regulations and policies have led to the prioritization of the meaningful use of electronic health records in the United States. EDW and SIA layers on top of EDW are becoming an essential strategic tool to healthcare institutions and integrated delivery networks in order to support evidence-based medicine at the enterprise level.

The cumulative distributions of the number vs. duration of echoes belonging to main meteor showers (Lyrids, η-Aquarids, δ-Aquarids, Perseids, Orionids, Leonids, Geminids) and sporadic background were investigated using a forward-scattered (FS) continuous-wave (CW) meteor radar link operational during 1992-95 over the long baseline Bologna-Lecce in Italy. The trend of the mass distribution of particles in the quoted meteoroid streams was derived, and the values of the mass index s were compared for each meteor population with the steady-state condition (s<11/6): It was found that the mass index s generally increases towards long duration echoes, but many of the observed meteor streams appear to have unstable populations. The values of the mass index of the sporadic complex are generally higher (2.07<=s<=2.57) than the corresponding ones of meteor showers in the range of echo durations 0.1<=T<=10 s. This is a possible consequence of longer lasting FS signals, indicating a shift of the mass distribution function vs, higher echo durations. Moreover,non-gravitational forces in connection with solar radiation pressure, Poynting-Robertson effect, solar-wind particle streaming, mutual collisions, etc., appear to be responsible for the observed widespread radiants and for unstable populations in the meteoroid stream

Understanding the physical processes in the inner regions of cometary atmospheres is vital for interpretation of molecular cometary emission at all wavelengths. Furthermore, because ecliptic comets are continuously evaluated as space mission targets, understanding their coma environments is a central theme in both enhancing the science return of past missions (EPOXI, Rosetta) and in selecting future mission targets. With this motivation, we report long-slit high-resolution observations of H2O emission in the comae of three ecliptic comets observed in early 2017: 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova, 2P/Encke, and 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak. Using the new crossed-dispersed spectrograph iSHELL at NASA IRTF, we detected a suite of water rovibrational emission lines from these comets and measured the spatial distributions of H2O rotational temperatures and molecular column densities. Both parameters are highly diagnostic of the physical environment in cometary comae, the competition between cooling and heating processes in these environments, and the presence (or lack thereof) of extended coma sources of gas-phase H2O. Comets 2P and 45P allowed a rare glimpse into coma physics at small (staff for their help with these challenging observations, most of which were done during daytime.

Existing methods of definition of extra-atmospheric masses of small meteoric bodies according to supervision of their movement in an atmosphere contain the certain arbitrariness. Vigorous attempts to overcome a divergence of results of calculations on the basis of various approaches often lead to physically incorrect conclusions. The output consists in patient accumulation of estimations and calculations for gradual elimination uncertainties. The equations of meteoric physics include two dimensionless parameters - factor ablation ? and factor of braking ?. In work are cited the data processing supervision of small meteors Prairie and Canadian networks, by a finding of values of parameters ? and ? with use of a method of the least squares. Also values of heights blackout a meteor which turn out from conditions of full destruction or final braking with use of the received values of ? and ? are considered. In prevailing number of supervision for considered meteors braking is insignificant. Results of calculations of height of blackout meteors confirm suitability of the approximations used in work for the description of movement of small meteors. In work results of calculation of extra-atmospheric masses with use of factor of braking for meteoric bodies of the spherical form with density of an ice and a stone are presented. On the basis of the received results discrepancy of photometric masses to values of masses of the input, received on observable braking proves to be true. In most cases received magnitude of masses essentially less photometric masses. Processing of supervision of small meteors Prairie and Canadian camera networks has shown, that the so-called photometric mass mismatches values of mass of the input, defined on observable braking. Acceptance of photometric value as the mass defining braking of a body, leads to obviously underestimated values of density of substance meteoric body. The further researches on specification of interpretation of supervision

From 4 November 2014, we started registration of meteors using radio waves at the Slovak Central Observatory in Hurbanovo. Our system records meteoric echoes from the TV transmitter Lviv 49.739583 MHz (N49.8480° E24.0369°, Ukraine), using a 4-element Yagi antenna with horizontal polarization (elevation of 0° and azimuth of 60°), receiver ICOM R-75 in the CW mode, and a computer with registration using HROFFT v1.0.0f. Received data were statistically processed and compared with shower activity. Not all of the echoes have meteoric origin, but are caused also by ionospheric Es layer. Registrations are also disturbed by lightning.

Evolution of the Innisfree meteorite orbit caused by secular perturbations is studied over the time interval of 500000 yrs (from the current epoch backwards). Calculations are made by the Gauss-Halphen-Gorjatschew method taking into account perturbations from the four outer planets - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. In the above mentioned time interval the meteorite orbit has undergone no essential transformations. The Innisfree orbit intersected in 91 cases the Earth orbit and in 94 - the Mars orbit. A system of small and large meteor bodies (producing ordinary meteors and fireballs) which may be genetically related to the Innisfree meteorite has been found, i.e. there probably exists an Innisfree family of meteor bodies.

Meteoroids, disintegrated during their entry in the atmosphere, contribute massively to the input of cosmic metals to Earth. Yet, this phenomenon is not well understood. Experimental studies on meteor material degradation in high enthalpy facilities are scarce and often do not provide quantitative data which are necessary for the validation of the simulation tools. In this work, we tried to duplicate typical meteor flight conditions in a ground testing facility to analyze the thermo-chemical degradation mechanisms by reproducing the stagnation point region conditions. The VKI Plasmatron is one of the most powerful induction-coupled plasma wind-tunnels in the world. It represents an important tool for the characterization of ceramic and ablative materials employed in the fabrication of Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) of spacecraft. The testing methodology and measurement techniques used for TPS characterization were adapted for the investigation of evaporation and melting in samples of basalt (meteorite surrogate) and ordinary chondrite. The materials were exposed to stagnation point heat fluxes of 1 MW/m2 and 3 MW/m2. During the test, numerous local pockets were formed at the surface of the samples by the emergence of gas bubbles. Images recorded through a digital 14bit CCD camera system clearly revealed the frothing of the surface for both tested materials. This process appeared to be more heterogeneous for the basaltic samples than for the ordinary chondritic material. Surface temperature measurements obtained via a two-color pyrometer showed a maximum surface temperature in the range between 2160 and 2490 Kelvins. Some of the basaltic samples fractured during the tests. This is probably due to the strong thermal gradients experienced by the material in these harsh conditions. Therefore, the surface temperature measurements suffered sudden drops in correspondence with the fracturing time. Emission spectra of air and ablated species were collected with resolution

Published by this time the majority of catalogues of a radiant, speeds and elements of orbits of meteors, basically, are based on a interpretation of the given radio observations by diffraction-time a method. However the given method is applicable for processing of 15-25 % of observed meteors that leads to loss of the most part of an observed material. Besides, the error of measurement of an antiaircraft corner of a radiant σZr with increase in a corner to 60°÷70 ° will be increased in 2-3 times, and at the further increase in a corner the error grows even faster, so measurements lose meaning. In 1968-1970 in action period of the Soviet equatorial meteor expedition to Somalia, simultaneously and radio observations of meteors in HisAO from four points have been resulted. For interpretation of the radar data the bearing-time method radio method developed and applied for the first time in Tajikistan is used. This approximately twice increases number of the measured radiant and speeds. What's more, the error of measurement of an antiaircraft corner does not depend on antiaircraft distance of a radiant. The velocity of meteor is determined by the bearing-time method, and by the diffraction picture. In the catalogue along with a radiant, speeds and elements of orbits, for the first time the height, value of linear electronic density, radio magnitude and masses of each of 4500 radio meteors registered since December 1968 till May, 1969 are resulted.

We present in this manuscript a 4 year survey of meteor shower radiants utilizing the Southern Argentina Agile Meteor Radar (SAAMER). SAAMER, which operates at the southern most region of South America, is a new generation SKiYMET system designed with significant differences from typical meteor radars including high transmitted power and an 8-antenna transmitting array enabling large detected rates at low zenith angles. We applied the statistical methodology developed by Jones and Jones (Jones, J., Jones, W. [2006]. Month. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 367, 1050-1056) to the data collected each day and compiled the results into 1 composite representative year at 1 resolution in Solar Longitude. We then search for enhancements in the activity which last for at least 3 days and evolve temporally as is expected from a meteor shower. Using this methodology, we have identified in our data 32 shower radiants, two of which were not part of the IAU commission 22 meteor shower working list. Recently, SAAMER's capabilities were enhanced by adding two remote stations to receive meteor forward scatter signals from meteor trails and thus enable the determination of meteoroid orbital parameters. SAAMER started recording orbits in January 2012 and future surveys will focus on the search for unknown meteor streams, in particular in the southern ecliptic sky.

We succeeded to identify the North Toroidal source by optical observations performed by the SonotaCo Network, which is a TV observation network coordinated by Japanese amateurs. This source has been known only for radar observations until now. The orbits of the optical meteors in the North Toroidal source are relatively large eccentricity and semi-major axis, compared with those of the radar meteors. In this paper, we report the characteristics of this North Toroidal source detected by optical observations, and discuss the possible origin and evolution of this source.

Dedicated researches on detection of possible meteoric activity in January 2014 connected with remains of comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) have been conducted. This work is based on the observational material obtained at different points of the Earth by means of 10 CCD cameras equipped with >-like lenses (> camera) and FM radio observations. 43 meteor events were revealed by viewing 54,000 images from 10 to 17 January 2014. As a result of position measurements of CCD images, coordinates of the meteor radiant were found: α_{R}=156°, δ_{R}=+38°. During this period (January 08 to January 24, 2014) an increase in the meteor activity above the level of the sporadic meteor background has been confirmed by FM-radio observations in Molodechno (Belarus) and Jaen (Spain)

Special research on the detection of possible meteoric activity in January 2014 connected with the remains of the comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) are conducted. This work is based on the observational material received in various points on the Earth, by means of CCD cameras (10 CCD cameras), equipped with lenses like ''Fish eye'' (All-sky camera) and radio observations in the FM range. 43 meteor phenomena were revealed during viewing of 54,000 images on January 17, 2014. As a result of position measurements of images and calculations coordinates of a meteor radiant were received: α_{R}=156 deg, δ_{R}= +38 deg (Fig. 1). During this period (January 08-24, 2014) increase of meteor activity over the level of a sporadic meteor background is confirmed by FM-radio observations in Molodechno (Belarus) and Jaen (Spain) (Fig. 2a,b).

Meteorism is a dominating problem in the western world, especially in women. The condition is very difficult to quantify, and effective and documented therapies are not avaiable. We wanted to develop a method for measuring anaerobic production of hydrogen and methane in faeces, and to correlate t...

A Draconid meteor shower outburst was observed from the boards of two scientific aircraft on 8 October 2011. In this paper we report the results of this double station experiment. The beginning and terminal heights are similar to other Draconid observations and confirm the fragile nature of the meteoroids. From the distribution function of terminal heights, a critical mass was found to be about 3.5 g. A behaviour of the terminal heights changes at this point. Light curves of Draconid meteors show great variability with a maximum of the F-number distribution around 0.35, which also confirms fragility of the material. Observed radiants of the meteors are in agreement with the theoretical model. Although encounters with two different filaments were predicted, it is impossible to distinguish between them from the radiants as well as the orbital data. Despite the complications with the data processing the airborne mission shows that such double station experiment is possible and provides valuable insight into meteor structure and dynamics.

Meteoric precipitation samples collected in 2006-09 at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, were analyzed for chemistry and stable isotope composition. Precipitation is the major source of infiltration to the unsaturated zone and of recharge to the saturated zone at Yucca Mountain.

An analysis is presented of the physical characteristics and photochemical aftereffects of the 1908 Tunguska explosive cometary meteor, whose physical manifestations are consistent with a five million ton object's entry into the earth's atmosphere at 40 km/sec. Aerodynamic calculations indicate that the shock waves emanating from the falling meteor could have generated up to 30 million tons of nitric oxide in the stratosphere and mesosphere. A fully interactive one-dimensional chemical-kinetics model of atmospheric trace constituents is used to estimate the photochemical consequences of such a large NO injection. The 35-45% hemispherical ozone depletion predicted by the model is in keeping with the 30 + or - 15% ozone variation reported for the first year after the Tunguska fall. Attention is also given to the optical anomalies which followed the event for indications of NO(x)-O(x) chemiluminescent emissions, NO2 solar absorption, and meteoric dust turbidity, along with possible climate changes due to the nearly one million tons of pulverized dust deposited in the mesosphere and stratosphere by the meteor.

In an effort to provide new and improved meteor radar sensing capabilities, Penn State has been developing advanced instruments and technologies for future meteor radars, with primary objectives of making such instruments more capable and more cost effective in order to study the basic properties of the global meteor flux, such as average mass, velocity, and chemical composition. Using low-cost field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), combined with open source software tools, we describe a design methodology enabling one to develop state-of-the art radar instrumentation, by developing a generalized instrumentation core that can be customized using specialized output stage hardware. Furthermore, using object-oriented programming (OOP) techniques and open-source tools, we illustrate a technique to provide a cost-effective, generalized software framework to uniquely define an instrument s functionality through a customizable interface, implemented by the designer. The new instrument is intended to provide instantaneous profiles of atmospheric parameters and climatology on a daily basis throughout the year. An overview of the instrument design concepts and some of the emerging technologies developed for this meteor radar are presented.

A new method of dating the surface exposure of rocks from in situ production of 10Be and 26Al has been applied to determine the age of Meteor Crater, Arizona. A lower bound on the crater age of 49,200 ?? 1,700 years has been obtained by this method. ?? 1991.

Meteorism is a dominating problem in the western world, especially in women. The condition is very difficult to quantify, and effective and documented therapies are not avaiable. We wanted to develop a method for measuring anaerobic production of hydrogen and methane in faeces, and to correlate...

A ''Meteor 2'' program developed for the BESM-6 electronic computer is described. The program permits to estimate radiation effect under nuclear power plant normal operation conditions. The calculations are carried out depending on the quantity and composition of the release activity, a ventilating pipe height, meteorological conditions as well as taking into account radioactive substance decay. The program permits to calculate the following values in the vicinity of radioactive product release point: a local distribution of a mean dose spread factor; a local distribution of a mean dose of inhalation irradiation for various human organs (the whole body, thyroid gland, bones, alimentary canal, lungs) and separate population groups; a local distribution of a mean dose of external beta radiation; a local distribution of a mean dose of external gamma radiation. The program includes the main ''Meteor'' program and 3 subprograms of DOBER, DABER and DABOR and is written in the FORTRAN language. The ''Meteor'' program organizes the data input and output of some separate subprograms. The DOBER subprogram determines the spread factor, the inhalation irradiation dose for separate organs and the external beta radiation dose. The DABER subprogram determines the external gamma radiation dose in the approximation of homogeneous distribution of a source in the vicinity of the calculation point. The DABOR subprogram is the second program for the calculating the external irradiation dose. The examples of using the ''Meteor'' program are given [ru

Full Text Available We report Geminid meteor head echo observations with the high-power large-aperture (HPLA Shigaraki middle and upper atmosphere (MU radar in Japan (34.85° N, 136.10° E. The MU radar observation campaign was conducted from 13 December 2010, 08:00 UTC to 15 December, 20:00 UTC and resulted in 48 h of radar data. A total of ~ 270 Geminids were observed among ~ 8800 meteor head echoes with precisely determined orbits. The Geminid head echo activity is consistent with an earlier peak than the visual Geminid activity determined by the International Meteor Organization (IMO. The observed flux of Geminids is a factor of ~ 3 lower than the previously reported flux of the 2009 Orionids measured with an identical MU~radar setup. We use the observed flux ratio to discuss the relation between the head echo mass–velocity selection effect, the mass distribution indices of meteor showers and the mass threshold of the MU radar.

The NASA Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) is often called upon to analyze meteors of public interest observed over the United States. Data from meteor networks are often utilized to accomplish this, as are recordings from the general public. When these methods fail, eyewitness reports are the only resource which can be leveraged. The MEO developed a tool to crudely calculate the trajectories of bright meteors from the eyewitness reports submitted to the American Meteor Society. The tool was tested on eyewitness data for 33 cases and compared to observed data from the NASA All Sky Fireball Network. The tool performed better for cases with more than 75 eyewitness reports than those with fewer than 75, by almost a factor of two across all metrics except for the end height. For these cases, the eyewitness-derived trajectory was about 50 km from the observed trajectory, the radiant was within 15°, and the speed was within 20% of that observed on average. A description of the tool, example case studies, and general trends are described.

Full Text Available We present results of recent observations of meteor-head echoes obtained with the high-power large-aperture Jicamarca 50MHz radar (11.95°S, 76.87°W in an interferometric mode. The large power-aperture of the system allows us to record more than 3000 meteors per hour in the small volume subtended by the 1° antenna beam, albeit when the cluttering equatorial electrojet (EEJ echoes are not present or are very weak. The interferometry arrangement allows the determination of the radiant (trajectory and speed of each meteor. It is found that the radiant distribution of all detected meteors is concentrated in relative small angles centered around the Earth's Apex as it transits over the Jicamarca sky, i.e. around the corresponding Earth heading for the particular observational day and time, for all seasons observed so far. The dispersion around the Apex is ~18° in a direction transverse to the Ecliptic plane and only 8.5° in heliocentric longitude in the Ecliptic plane both in the Earth inertial frame of reference. No appreciable interannual variability has been observed. Moreover, no population related to the optical (larger meteors Leonid showers of 1998-2002 is found, in agreement with other large power-aperture radar observations. A novel cross-correlation detection technique (adaptive match-filtering is used in combination with a 13 baud Barker phase-code. The technique allows us to get good range resolution (0.75km without any sensitivity deterioration for the same average power, compared to the non-coded long pulse scheme used at other radars. The matching Doppler shift provides an estimation of the velocity within a pulse with the same accuracy as if a non-coded pulse of the same length had been used. The velocity distribution of the meteors is relatively narrow and centered around 60kms-1. Therefore most of the meteors have an almost circular retrograde orbit around the Sun. Less than 8% of the velocities correspond to interstellar orbits

The CABERNET project was designed to push the limits for obtaining accurate measurements of meteoroids orbits from photographic and video meteor camera recordings. The discrepancy between the measured and theoretic orbits of these objects heavily depends on the semi-major axis determination, and thus on the reliability of the pre-atmospheric velocity computation. With a spatial resolution of 0.01° per pixel and a temporal resolution of up to 10 ms, CABERNET should be able to provide accurate measurements of velocities and trajectories of meteors. To achieve this, it is necessary to improve the precision of the data reduction processes, and especially the determination of the meteor's velocity. In this work, most of the steps of the velocity computation are thoroughly investigated in order to reduce the uncertainties and error contributions at each stage of the reduction process. The accuracy of the measurement of meteor centroids is established and results in a precision of 0.09 pixels for CABERNET, which corresponds to 3.24‧‧. Several methods to compute the velocity were investigated based on the trajectory determination algorithms described in Ceplecha (1987) and Borovicka (1990), as well as the multi-parameter fitting (MPF) method proposed by Gural (2012). In the case of the MPF, many optimization methods were implemented in order to find the most efficient and robust technique to solve the minimization problem. The entire data reduction process is assessed using simulated meteors, with different geometrical configurations and deceleration behaviors. It is shown that the multi-parameter fitting method proposed by Gural(2012)is the most accurate method to compute the pre-atmospheric velocity in all circumstances. Many techniques that assume constant velocity at the beginning of the path as derived from the trajectory determination using Ceplecha (1987) or Borovicka (1990) can lead to large errors for decelerating meteors. The MPF technique also allows one to

Full Text Available The polarization characteristics of 930-MHz meteor head echoes have been studied for the first time, using data obtained in a series of radar measurements carried out with the tristatic EISCAT UHF high power, large aperture (HPLA radar system in October 2009. An analysis of 44 tri-static head echo events shows that the polarization of the echo signal recorded by the Kiruna receiver often fluctuates strongly on time scales of tens of microseconds, illustrating that the scattering process is essentially stochastic. On longer timescales (> milliseconds, more than 90 % of the recorded events show an average polarization signature that is independent of meteor direction of arrival and echo strength and equal to that of an incoherent-scatter return from underdense plasma filling the tristatic observation volume. This shows that the head echo plasma targets scatter isotropically, which in turn implies that they are much smaller than the 33-cm wavelength and close to spherically symmetric, in very good agreement with results from a previous EISCAT UHF study of the head echo RCS/meteor angle-of-incidence relationship. Significant polarization is present in only three events with unique target trajectories. These all show a larger effective target cross section transverse to the trajectory than parallel to it. We propose that the observed polarization may be a signature of a transverse charge separation plasma resonance in the region immediately behind the meteor head, similar to the resonance effects previously discussed in connection with meteor trail echoes by Herlofson, Billam and Browne, Jones and Jones and others.

We detected hydrogen Balmer-alpha (H(alpha)) emission in the spectra of bright meteors and investigated its potential use as a tracer for exogenous delivery of organic matter. We found that it is critical to observe the meteors with high enough spatial resolution to distinguish the 656.46 nm H(alpha) emission from the 657.46 nm intercombination line of neutral calcium, which was bright in the meteor afterglow. The H(alpha) line peak stayed in constant ratio to the atmospheric emissions of nitrogen during descent of the meteoroid. If all of the hydrogen originates in the Earth's atmosphere, the hydrogen atoms are expected to have been excited at T = 4400 K. In that case, we measured an H(2)O abundance in excess of 150 +/- 20 ppm at 80-90 km altitude (assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium in the air plasma). This compares with an expected water bound in meteoroid minerals) could have caused the observed H(alpha) emission, but only if the line is excited in a hot T approximately 10000 K plasma component that is unique to meteoric ablation vapor emissions such as Si(+). Assuming that the Si(+) lines of the Leonid spectrum would need the same hot excitation conditions, and a typical [H]/[C] = 1 in cometary refractory organics, we calculated an abundance ratio [C]/[Si] = 3.9 +/- 1.4 for the dust of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle. This range agreed with the value of [C]/[Si] = 4.4 measured for comet 1P/Halley dust. Unless there is 10 times more water vapor in the upper atmosphere than expected, we conclude that a significant fraction of the hydrogen atoms in the observed meteor plasma originated in the meteoroid.

The Oort Cloud Comets (OCCs), exemplified by the Great Comet of 1997 (Hale-Bopp), are occasional visitors from the heatless periphery of the solar system. Previous works hypothesized that a great majority of OCCs must physically disrupt after one or two passages through the inner solar system, where strong thermal gradients can cause phase transitions or volatile pressure buildup. Here we study the fate of small debris particles produced by OCC disruptions to determine whether the imprints of a hypothetical population of OCC meteoroids can be found in the existing meteor radar data. We find that OCC particles with diameters D or approx. 1 mm have a very low Earth-impact probability. The intermediate particle sizes, D approx. 100 microns represent a sweet spot. About 1% of these particles orbitally evolve by Poynting-Robertson drag to reach orbits with semimajor axis a approx. 1 AU. They are expected to produce meteors with radiants near the apex of the Earth s orbital motion. We find that the model distributions of their impact speeds and orbits provide a good match to radar observations of apex meteors, except for the eccentricity distribution, which is more skewed toward e approx. 1 in our model. Finally, we propose an explanation for the long-standing problem in meteor science related to the relative strength of apex and helion/antihelion sources. As we show in detail, the observed trend, with the apex meteors being more prominent in observations of highly sensitive radars, can be related to orbital dynamics of particles released on the long-period orbits.

The METEOR (Measurement of Efficacy of Treatment in the 'Era of Outcome' in Rheumatology) initiative aims at improving care for RA patients by assisting rheumatologists in strict monitoring and tight control of disease activity. The state of the art of the METEOR initiative, the technical organisation of the database and future perspectives are described. RA patients are followed in the daily practice setting; (follow-up) visits are registered via the tool or upload facility. The METEOR tool is an easy-to-use, stand-alone, web-based program free available to rheumatologists worldwide. The upload facility is developed to meet the wish of many local registries to upload their data into the METEOR database to benefit from benchmark and research facilities without giving up their own registries. Rheumatologists will always have access to full patient details of their own patients. Yet, patient identifying data are stored in an encrypted manner in the METEOR database in order to provide full patient anonymity to all other users. While the tool can be used without IT involvement, the upload facility requires IT support. The incorporation of local registries into the METEOR database is time consuming, requires endeavours as well as technical support of both the local registries and the METEOR organisation, however, the combination of the tool and the upload facility has enabled the successful creation of a strong research database with real life data of 35,000 RA patients with more than 140,000 visits from all over the world! The METEOR database offers the unique opportunity to study daily practice care as well as dedicated research questions in worldwide real life setting. Moreover, the METEOR's collective experience can be accessed by those who think about initiating patient registries for all sorts of purposes. Consequently, these well-designed registries may help in treating RA patients even more successfully in future.

Full Text Available Time constants for photodetachment, photoemission, and electron capture are considered for two classes of mesospheric aerosol particles, i.e., meteor smoke particles (MSPs and pure water ice particles. Assuming that MSPs consist of metal oxides like Fe2O3 or SiO, we find that during daytime conditions photodetachment by solar photons is up to 4 orders of magnitude faster than electron attachment such that MSPs cannot be negatively charged in the presence of sunlight. Rather, even photoemission can compete with electron capture unless the electron density becomes very large (>>1000 cm−3 such that MSPs should either be positively charged or neutral in the case of large electron densities. For pure water ice particles, however, both photodetachment and photoemission are negligible due to the wavelength characteristics of its absorption cross section and because the flux of solar photons has already dropped significantly at such short wavelengths. This means that water ice particles should normally be negatively charged. Hence, our results can readily explain the repeated observation of the coexistence of positive and negative aerosol particles in the polar summer mesopause, i.e., small MSPs should be positively charged and ice particles should be negatively charged. These results have further important implications for our understanding of the nucleation of mesospheric ice particles as well as for the interpretation of incoherent scatter radar observations of MSPs.

We measure meteoric 10Be in soils across a well-studied climate gradient spanning Kohala, Hawaii to provide new understanding of the isotope behavior in soils and constraints on nuclide delivery rates to Earth's surface. Annual rainfall across the Kohala climogradient varies from 16 - 300 cm, with Hawaiian soils reflecting evolution over the past 150 ka, the nominal age of the volcanic parent material. We analyzed a sequence of nine soil profiles for meteoric 10Be and compared with previously measured data on soil chemistry and dust fluxes. In the Kohala system, soil inventories of 10Be span 40-300 x 109 atom/cm2 and generally increase linearly with rainfall, consistent with precipitation-driven fluxes and the high retention of 10Be in clay-rich soil horizons. However, nuclide inventories dramatically decrease for soils at rainfall >140 cm/y. The observed decrease corresponds with other strong changes in weathering intensity across the climate gradient, associated with previously studied and recognized pedogenic thresholds. These thresholds represent abrupt transitions in soil chemistry related to increased throughflow of soil solutions, decreases in base saturation and pH, and the destruction of phyllosilicates and replacement with amorphous oxyhydroxides. Meteoric-derived ages, based on 10Be-flux estimates and measured inventories are uniform for dry soils ( 60ka), but far less than the known substrate age (150ka), indicating that actual delivery rates are lower than predicted from current models in this region. Despite the offset in predicted and substrate ages, the consistency in pattern suggests that the rainfall gradient over the 150 thousand years of soil development has not deviated significantly from its present structure. Furthermore, based on clear 10Be losses in soils with high moisture availability, our results indicate meteoric 10Be may not be a robust tracer of soil age and movement in systems with high rainfall and weathering intensity and low soil

In this work, we report the estimation of mesospheric temperatures at 90 km height from the observations of the VHF all-sky meteor radar operated at Mohe (53.5 °N, 122.3° E), China, since August 2011. The kinetic temperature profiles retrieved from the observations of Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) onboard the Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere, Energetics, and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite are processed to provide the temperature (TSABER) and temperature gradient (dT/dh) at 90 km height. Based on the SABER temperature profile data an empirical dT/dh model is developed for the Mohe latitude. First, we derive the temperatures from the meteor decay times (Tmeteor) and the Mohe dT/dh model gives prior information of temperature gradients. Secondly, the full-width of half maximum (FWHM) of the meteor height profiles is calculated and further used to deduce the temperatures (TFWHM) based on the strong linear relationship between FWHM and TSABER. The temperatures at 90 km deduced from the decay times (Tmeteor) and from the meteor height distributions (TFWHM) at Mohe are validated/calibrated with TSABER. The temperatures present a considerable annual variation, being maximum in winter and minimum in summer. Harmonic analyses reveal that the temperatures have an annual variation consistent with TSABER. Our work suggests that the FWHM has a good performance in routine estimation of the temperatures. It should be pointed out that the slope of FWHM and TSABER is 10.1 at Mohe, which is different from that of 15.71 at King Sejong (62.2° S, 58.8° E) station. Acknowledgments The TIMED/SABER kinetic temperature (version 2.0) data are provided by the SABER team through http://saber.gats-inc.com/. The temperatures from the NRLMSISE-00 model are calculated using Aerospace Blockset toolbox of MATLAB (2016a). This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (41231065, 41321003). We acknowledge the use of meteor radar

Study of the parameters of the upper atmosphere on the basis of amplitude-time characteristics of meteor ionization. Together with various methods meteor observations (optical, photographic, visual, spectral, television), the most effective modern method of studying meteors means is radar. The development of modern radar technology allows us to apply this tool to monitor meteors. This method allows to determine the parameters of temperature and atmospheric pressure. Actual issue is the development of methods of determining the coefficient of ambipolar diffusion, pressure, density and temperature of the atmosphere in the meteor zone. Graph of amplitude-time characteristic has the exponential form. This fact allows to determine the coefficient of ambipolar diffusion. New algorithm for estimation of the ambipolar diffusion coefficient based on a set of statistical methods and techniques of digital signal processing. There are decomposition of data on singular values and Prony's method. This method of modeling the sample data as a linear combination of exponential. Prony’s method approximates the amplitude-time characteristics of using a deterministic exponential model. Input data is amplitude-time characteristics of the meteor trail x[1]…x[N]. The method allows to estimate x[n] p-membered exponential model: begin{center} x[n]=Sigma2A_{k}exp[a _{k}(n-1)]Cos[2Pif_{k}(n-1)T+Fi_{k}] (1) end{center} 1<=n<=N, T - time range in seconds, A_{k} and a_{k} - amplitude and damping coefficient, f_{k} and Fi_{k} - frequency and initial phase. The equation describing the decay of radio signal: begin{center} A=A_{0}exp(-16Pi^{2}$D_{a}t/λ (2) ). (2) lambdaλ - radar wavelength. The output of the algorithm - the ambipolar diffusion coefficient values D_{a}. begin{center} T=0.5lnD-T_{0}+mg/2kT_{0} (3) Last equation allows to obtain temperature values using the coefficient of ambipolar diffusion depends on the height.

NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) is charged with monitoring the meteoroid environment in near-Earth space for the protection of satellites and spacecraft. The MEO has recently established eight wide-field meteor cameras, four cameras each at two separate stations to calculate automated meteor fluxes in the millimeter size range. Each camera consists of a 17 mm focal length Schneider lens on a Watec 902H2 Ultimate CCD video camera, producing a 21.7 x 15.5 degree field of view. This configuration has a limiting meteor magnitude of about +5. One station is located at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama and the other is 31.8 kilometers away at a school in Decatur, Alabama. Both single-station and double-station fluxes are calculated every morning using data from the previous night. The flux algorithms employed here differ from others currently in use in that they do not assume a single height for all meteors observed in the common camera volume. In the MEO system, the volume is broken up into a set of height intervals, with the collecting areas determined by the position of the active shower or sporadic source radiant. The flux per height interval is calculated and summed to obtain the total meteor flux. As the mass is also computed from the photometry, a mass flux can also be calculated. First, a weather algorithm indicates if sky conditions are clear enough to calculate fluxes, at which point a limiting magnitude algorithm is employed. The limiting magnitude algorithm performs a fit of stellar magnitudes versus camera intensities. The stellar limiting magnitude is derived from this and converted to a limiting meteor magnitude for the active shower or sporadic source. The fluxes are scaled to an average limiting magnitude throughout the night and zenithal hourly rate (ZHR's) are output daily along with flux values. In addition to this process, results will be presented as applied to the 2014 May Camelopardalid outburst, using data from several

Synthesis of Is/FeO maturity indexes for Apollo 17 regolith samples in the valley of Taurus-Littrow on the Moon indicate that high levels of ilmenite in the samples significantly reduces the level of this indicator of space exposure. The analysis, along with consideration of regolith glass characteristics, also discloses that micro-meteor fluxes vary over geologic time, presumably in response to significant impact events in the Asteroid Belt. Surface samples of ilmenite-poor, silicate-rich regolith have about 80-90% higher maturity indexes than surface samples of ilmenite-rich, basaltic regolith of comparable exposure. For comparison of the history of various regolith exposures to the space environment, Taurus-Littrow's light mantle avalanche deposit, the youngest large area stratigraphic unit, provides a specific time horizon. For at least the last ~110 million years, the currently estimated age of the light mantle avalanche, most near surface (upper 1-5cm) regolith has had approximately the same exposure to micro-meteors. The surface of the largely ilmenite-rich basalt fill in the valley has been exposed to space at least as long or possibly 30 million years longer than the light mantle, based on exposure ages for large boulder ejecta in the Camelot cluster of craters. High apparent maturity (Is/FeO >80), however, exists only on three types of regolith surfaces: (1) the North Massif apron (e.g., 77431), (2) the light mantle avalanche deposit (e.g., 72161), and (3) low ilmenite basalt (e.g., 72150). Only intermediate to low maturity (Is/FeO Crater as a unit stratigraphically overlying the orange ash, has exceptionally low maturity (8% agglutinates and Is/FeO = 5) but an unusually high amount of "ropy" glass (14-18%). (Ropy glass normally constitutes less than on percent of new Taurus-Littrow regolith. It forms within fresh impact craters as a result of macro-meteor impacts, but the current flux of micro-meteors disaggregates such glass within a million years or

Full Text Available In situ probe measurements of plasma parameters were carried out on 18 and 20 November 1999 from Sriharikota, India, a low-latitude rocket launching station to investigate the effect of a Leonid meteor storm. Results obtained on plasma waves using a high frequency Langmuir probe are discussed. The characteristics of the sub-meter scale size plasma waves observed for the first time during Leonid meteor storm are presented. Based on the results obtained from both the rocket flights and comparison with the results obtained from previous rocket flights from the same location, it appears these sub-meter waves are associated with intense meteoric activity. A possible mechanism based on the dependence of the meteoric activity and its limitations are discussed.

One of the most active fields in which has been dedicated the Málaga Astronomical Society (SMA) is the meteors and meteor showers. Since 2006 the SMA refers parts of visual observations and photographic detections from El Pinillo station (Torremolinos, Spain). In 2013 it was decided to give an extra boost to get a camera network that allowed the calculation of the atmospheric trajectory of a meteoroid and, where possible, obtaining the orbital elements.

The dissipation of meteor trace as the function of ionic composition and electric field is investigated numerically. Critical values of electric field E 1 and E 2 are determined. At E 1 the dissipation process is similar to the diffusion one; lifetimes are proportional to diffusion coefficient. At E 1 2 - the dissipation process falls into two phases with different character of lifetime dependence on meteor trace mass. At E>E 2 lifetime does not depend on the electric field

The rarefied and high Mach number (up to 270) of the flow field of a typical meteoroid as it enters the Earth's atmosphere implies conditions of ablation and atmospheric chemistry that have proven to be as difficult to grasp as the proverbial shooting star. An airborne campaign was organized to study these processes during an intense Leonid shower. A probe of molecular band emission now demonstrates that the flash of light from a common meteor originates in the wake of the object rather than in the meteor head. A new theoretical approach using the direct simulation Monte Carlo technique demonstrates that the ablation process is critical in heating the air in that wake. Air molecules impinge on a dense cloud of ablated material in front of the meteoroid head into an extended wake that has the observed excitation temperatures. These processes determine what extraterrestrial materials may have been delivered to Earth at the time of the origin of life.

The detection system of forward-scattered FM-radio signals has been newly set up in Korea Science Academy of KAIST in Busan, Korea. The meteor observations using a 2.5m-long Yagi antenna have been carried out since May, 2015. The radio station we use is the NHK broadcasting station (85.20MHz) located in Hokkaido, Japan which is approximately 1,400 km away from Busan and is well below the local horizon. The detection is successfully running, and we examine the observed data reliability by simply checking long-lasting echoes. An additional observing station is being installed in the nearby city of Ulsan to make a cross-check. We analyze the results to find the diurnal and daily variation of the meteor rates. We are planning to pursue long-term observations in order to educate students.

Full Text Available Here we report on four events detected using the Jicamarca Radio Observatory (JRO over an 18-year period, in which huge convective ionospheric storms (CISs occur in a stable ionosphere. We argue that these rare events could be initiated by meteor-induced electric fields. The meteor-induced electric fields map to the bottomside of the F region, causing radar echoes and a localized CIS. If and when a localized disturbance reaches 500 km, we argue that it becomes two-dimensionally turbulent and cascades structure to both large and small scales. This leads to long-lasting structure and, almost certainly, to scintillations over a huge range of latitudes some ±15° wide and to 3 m irregularities, which backscatter the VHF radar waves. These structures located at high altitudes are supported by vortices shed by the upwelling bubble in a vortex street.

In our project, we aim toward constructing Turkish Meteor Surveillance Systems and Network in Turkey. For this goal, video observational systems from SonotaCo (Japan) were chosen. Meteors are going to be observed with the specific cameras, their orbits will be calculated by the software from SonotaCo, and the places where they will be falling / impacting will be examined by field trips. The collected meteorites will be investigated by IR-Raman Spectroscopic techniques and SEM-EDX analyses in order to setup a database. On the other hand, according to our Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives, there are huge amounts of reports of falls for the past centuries. In order to treat these data properly, it is obvious that processing systems should be constructed and developed.

Many tons of dust grains, including samples of asteroids and comets, fall from space into the Earth's atmosphere each day. NASA periodically collects some of these particles from the Earth's stratosphere using sticky collectors mounted on NASA's high-flying aircraft. Sometimes, especially when the Earth experiences a known meteor shower, a special opportunity is presented to associate cosmic dust particles with a known source. NASA JSC's Cosmic Dust Collection Program has made special attempts to collect dust from particular meteor showers and asteroid families when flights can be planned well in advance. However, it has rarely been possible to make collections on very short notice. In 2012, the Draconid meteor shower presented that opportunity. The Draconid meteor shower, originating from Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, has produced both outbursts and storms several times during the last century, but the 2012 event was not predicted to be much of a show. Because of these predictions, the Cosmic Dust team had not targeted a stratospheric collection effort for the Draconids, despite the fact that they have one of the slowest atmospheric entry velocities (23 km/s) of any comet shower, and thus offer significant possibilities of successful dust capture. However, radar measurements obtained by the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar during the 2012 Draconids shower indicated a meteor storm did occur October 8 with a peak at 16:38 (+/-5 min) UTC for a total duration of approximately 2 hours.

Aims: We aim to analyse real-time Perseid and Leonid meteor spectra using a novel calibration-free (CF) method, which is usually applied in the laboratory for laser-induced breakdown spectroscopic (LIBS) chemical analysis. Methods: Reference laser ablation spectra of specimens of chondritic meteorites were measured in situ simultaneously with a high-resolution laboratory echelle spectrograph and a spectral camera for meteor observation. Laboratory data were subsequently evaluated via the CF method and compared with real meteor emission spectra. Additionally, spectral features related to airglow plasma were compared with the spectra of laser-induced breakdown and electric discharge in the air. Results: We show that this method can be applied in the evaluation of meteor spectral data observed in real time. Specifically, CF analysis can be used to determine the chemical composition of meteor plasma, which, in the case of the Perseid and Leonid meteors analysed in this study, corresponds to that of the C-group of chondrites.

On the base of regular observations of energetic particle fluxes by means of the 'Meteor' satellite apparatus is found the new phenomenon - the narrow belt of trapped relativistic electrons with the maximum at L=1.8-1.9. Continuous observations permit to obtain elaborate information on the features of the belt spatial structure, its dynamics and energy spectra with the moment of its generation 24.3.1991

A computational approach used for subsurface explosion cratering has been extended to hypervelocity impact cratering. Meteor (Barringer) Crater, Arizona, was selected for our first computer simulation because it was the most thoroughly studied. It is also an excellent example of a simple, bowl-shaped crater and is one of the youngest terrestrial impact craters. Shoemaker estimates that the impact occurred about 20,000 to 30,000 years ago (Roddy (1977)). Initial conditions for this calculation included a meteorite impact velocity of 15 km/s. meteorite mass of 1.57E + 08 kg, with a corresponding kinetic energy of 1.88E + 16 J (4.5 megatons). A two-dimensional Eulerian finite difference code called SOIL was used for this simulation of a cylindrical iron projectile impacting at normal incidence into a limestone target. For this initial calculation a Tillotson equation-of-state description for iron and limestone was used with no shear strength. A color movie based on this calculation was produced using computer-generated graphics. Results obtained for this preliminary calculation of the formation of Meteor Crater, Arizona, are in good agreement with Meteor Crater Measurements.

A computational approach used for subsurface explosion cratering has been extended to hypervelocity impact cratering. Meteor (Barringer) Crater, Arizona, was selected for our first computer simulation because it was the most thoroughly studied. It is also an excellent example of a simple, bowl-shaped crater and is one of the youngest terrestrial impact craters. Shoemaker estimates that the impact occurred about 20,000 to 30,000 years ago [Roddy (1977)]. Initial conditions for this calculation included a meteorite impact velocity of 15 km/s. meteorite mass of 1.57E + 08 kg, with a corresponding kinetic energy of 1.88E + 16 J (4.5 megatons). A two-dimensional Eulerian finite difference code called SOIL was used for this simulation of a cylindrical iron projectile impacting at normal incidence into a limestone target. For this initial calculation a Tillotson equation-of-state description for iron and limestone was used with no shear strength. A color movie based on this calculation was produced using computer-generated graphics. Results obtained for this preliminary calculation of the formation of Meteor Crater, Arizona, are in good agreement with Meteor Crater Measurements

As a result of dynamic evolution of IT industry and astronomical research in the XXI century, which have resulted in obtaining large and complex data sets known as Big Data (e.g. data from the European Space Agency missions, such as GAIA mission, etc.), as well as due to rapid development of computer technologies, astronomy and computer science have become closely linked to each other. In the XXI century, Information technology has become an essential part of understanding the world around. This paper presents a solution to the problem of meteor data representation in the second equatorial coordinate (RA-Dec) system using Information Technology. Such a visualisation solution is needed to analyse the results of experiments based on the radar observations conducted in 1972-1978 (stage 1 - the data obtained in 1972 comprise 10,247 meteor orbits), which have been accumulated and stored in the Meteor Database of the Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics (KNURE). A sample set of data with their characteristics and details about their delivery has been presented by (Kashcheyev & Tkachuk, 1980). An electronic calculator application was developed by employing the model of data visualisation in the form of celestial hemispheres using the object-oriented programming language C#.

1I/2017 U1 ('Oumuamua), a recently discovered asteroid in a hyperbolic orbit, is the first macroscopic object of extrasolar origin identified in the solar system. I will present imaging and spectroscopic observations of 'Oumuamua as well as a search of meteor activity potentially linked to this object using the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar. We find that 'Oumuamua exhibits a moderate spectral gradient of 10%+-6% per 100 nm, a value lower than that of outer solar system bodies, indicative of a formation and/or previous residence in a warmer environment. Imaging observation and spectral line analysis show no evidence that 'Oumuamua is presently active. Negative meteor observation is as expected, since ejection driven by sublimation of commonly known cometary species such as CO requires an extreme ejection speed of ~40 m/s at ~100 au in order to reach the Earth. No obvious candidate stars are proposed as the point of origin for 'Oumuamua. Given a mean free path of ~109 ly in the solar neighborhood, 'Oumuamua has likely spent a very long time in interstellar space before encountering the solar system.

Full Text Available The meteor trail echo decay rates are analysed on-site to provide daily temperatures near 90 km. In order to get temperatures from trail decay times, either knowledge of the pressure or the background temperature height gradient near 90 km is required (Hocking, 1999. Hocking et al. (2004 have developed an empirical 90 km temperature gradient model depending only on latitude and time of year, which is used in the SKiYMET on-site meteor temperature analysis. Here we look at the sensitivity of the resulting temperature to the assumed gradient and compare it and the temperatures with daily AuraMLS averages near Eureka. Generally there is good agreement between radar and satellite for winter temperatures and their short-term variations. However there is a major difference in mid-summer both in the temperatures and the gradients. Increased turbulence in summer, which may overwhelm the ambipolar diffusion even at 90 km, is likely a major factor. These differences are investigated by generating ambipolar-controlled decay times from satellite pressure and temperature data at a range of heights and comparing with radar measurements. Our study suggests it may be possible to use these data to estimate eddy diffusion coefficients at heights below 90 km. Finally the simple temperature analysis (using satellite pressures, and a standard meteor wind analysis are used to compare mean diurnal variations of temperature (T with those of zonal wind (U and meridional wind (V in composite multi-year monthly intervals.

Using mid infrared and visible photometry, Fernandez et al. (2001) derived new effective radius and geometric albedo for NEO 2000 PG_3, moving on comet-like orbit, equal to 3.08 km and 0.021 accordingly. We investigated the orbital evolution of 2000 PG_3 under gravitational action of six planets (Mercury to Saturn) over one cycle of variation of perihelion argument. According to the method published (see e.g. Babadzhanov 2001), the theoretical geocentric radiants and velocities of four possible meteor showers associated with this object are determined. Using published data, the theoretically predicted showers are identified with the observed ones, namely, night-time Northern and Southern δ-Piscids, and associations 35 and 41 from the catalogue of Kashcheev et al. (1967). The character of the orbit and low albedo of 2000 PG_3, and the existence of observed meteor showers associated with 2000 PG_3 provide evidence supporting the conjecture that this object may be of cometary nature. References Babadzhanov, P.B. 2001, A&A 371, 329-335 Fernandez, Y.R., Jewitt, D.C., & Shepard, S.S. 2001, AphJ 553: L197-L200 Kashcheev, B.L., Lebedinets, V.N., & Lagutin, M.F. 1967, Meteoric Phenomena in the Earth atmosphere, Nauka. Moscow

In this paper we have used atmospheric data, from 80 to 100 km altitude, measured by three different equipments for studying gravity wave activity. An OH CCD imager and a meteor radar located at Cachoeira Paulista (22.7 ° S, 45 ° W) were used together with a sodium lidar operating at São José dos Campos (23.1 ° S, 45.9 °W). We have used two years of data from 2007 to 2008 with 28 days of simultaneous data, totalizing 148 hours of observations. In an earlier presentation we inferred mean momentum fluxes and variances by using Hocking’s (2005) analysis of the meteor radar data and compared the variances values with the ones derived from Na lidar temperature profiles. The main objective of the present work is a comparison between the momentum fluxes inferred by using Hocking’s (2005) analysis of the meteor radar data and those derived from imaging data using the Swenson and Gardner (1998) model. This is an analytical model that relates the intensity perturbation of the OH emission to the relative perturbation in the atmospheric density. And then applying the GW polarization relations it is possible to compute the vertical energy and momentum fluxes due to waves seen in the OH emission.This analysis will make possible a comprehensive study of the momentum flux and variance due to GW over this region.

In this article the author combines his professional know-how about cameras for film and television production with his amateur astronomy activities. Professional digital film cameras with high sensitivity are still quite rare in astronomy. One reason for this may be their costs of up to 20 000 and more (camera body only). In the interim, however,consumer photo cameras with film mode and very high sensitivity have come to the market for about 2 000 EUR. In addition, ultra-high sensitive professional film cameras, that are very interesting for meteor observation, have been introduced to the market. The particular benefits of digital film cameras with large CMOS sensors, including photo cameras with film recording function, for meteor recording are presented by three examples: a 2014 Camelopardalid, shot with a Canon EOS C 300, an exploding 2014 Aurigid, shot with a Sony alpha7S, and the 2016 Perseids, shot with a Canon ME20F-SH. All three cameras use large CMOS sensors; "large" meaning Super-35 mm, the classic 35 mm film format (24x13.5 mm, similar to APS-C size), or full format (36x24 mm), the classic 135 photo camera format. Comparisons are made to the widely used cameras with small CCD sensors, such as Mintron or Watec; "small" meaning 12" (6.4x4.8 mm) or less. Additionally, special photographic image processing of meteor film recordings is discussed.

Astronomy has always afforded teachers an excellent topic to develop students' interest in science. New technology allows the opportunity to inexpensively outfit local school districts with sensitive, wide-field video cameras that can detect and track brighter meteors and other objects. While the data-collection and analysis process can be mostly automated by software, there is substantial human involvement that is necessary in the rejection of spurious detections, in performing dynamics and orbital calculations, and the rare recovery and analysis of fallen meteorites. The continuous monitoring allowed by dedicated wide-field surveillance cameras can provide students with a better understanding of the behavior of the night sky including meteors and meteor showers, stellar motion, the motion of the Sun, Moon, and planets, phases of the Moon, meteorological phenomena, etc. Additionally, some students intrigued by the possibility of UFOs and "alien visitors" may find that actual monitoring data can help them develop methods for identifying "unknown" objects. We currently have two ultra-low light-level surveillance cameras coupled to fish-eye lenses that are actively obtaining data. We have developed curricula suitable for middle or high school students in astronomy and earth science courses and are in the process of testing and revising our materials.

The problem of the thermal and dynamic destruction of large meteor bodies moving in planetary atmospheres is fundamental for the clarification of optical observations and anomalous phenomena in the atmosphere, the determination of the physicochemical properties of meteoroids, and the explanation of the fall of remnants of large meteorites. Therefore, it is important to calculate the coefficient of radiant heat exchange (which is the determining factor under these conditions) for large meteor bodies as they move with hypersonic velocities in an atmosphere. The solution of this problem enables one to find the ablation of a meteorite during its aerodynamic heating and to determine the initial conditions for the solution of problems of the breakup of large bodies and their subsequent motion and ablation. Hypersonic flow of an inviscid gas stream over an axisymmetric blunt body is analyzed with allowance for radiative transfer in a thick-thin approximation. The gas-dynamic problem of the flow of an optically thick gas over a large body is solved by the method of asymptotic joined expansions, using a hypersonic approximation and local self-similarity. An equation is obtained for the coefficient of radiant heat exchange and the peculiarities of such heat exchange for meteor bodies of large size are noted

Three mysterious explosion sounds were heard in the coastal towns of Tamsui, west of Taipei in northern Taiwan, in the early evening of December 5, 2013. The event left clear signals that are identified in the recordings of 12 regional seismometers and 3 infrasound sensors and processed by means of travel time analysis. The apparent velocity of 330 m/s of the signals confirms that the energy transmission was through the atmosphere, and the characteristics of the waveforms suggest the meteor-generated shockwaves. We use the graphical method as well as the Genetic Algorithm optimization approach to constrain the trajectory of the meteor and to locate its projected intercept with the ground—(25.33 N, 121.26 E), approximately 20 km off the coast of Tamsui. The trajectory has azimuth (measured from north in a map view in the clockwise direction) of 303° and (near-vertical) elevation angle of 70°. From the observed period of 1.3 s at the maximum amplitude of the infrasound signal, we estimate by conventional scaling law that the meteor in question had impact energy on the order of 5 × 1010 J (equivalent to an earthquake of local magnitude 4) or roughly a size of 0.5 m across.

Spectral data with dispersions from 11 to 94 A/mm on 4 fireballs of actual brightness of -4 to -12 magnitude and with velocities of about 30 km/s at 70 to 80 km heights are used for studies of meteor radiation problems. The radiation of fireballs is found to be strongly affected by self absorption. But if the emission curve of growth is used for correction of the self absorption of Fe I lines, a great discrepancy between spectral data and efficiency data for total Fe I light is found. If one assumes that the self absorption is superposed on another effect, a decrease of the dimensions of the radiating volume with increasing lower potential, the spectral data on Fe I lines will be in agreement with the luminous efficiency of total Fe I meteor radiation. Formulas for emission curve of growth and Boltzmann distribution including this effect are derived. This effect is important for fireballs brighter than about -1 or -2 magnitude, while self absorption seems to be important even for fainter meteors.

Full Text Available The advantages of using a composite day analysis for all-sky interferometric meteor radars when measuring mean winds and tides are widely known. On the other hand, problems arise if this technique is applied to Hocking's (2005 gravity wave analysis for all-sky meteor radars. In this paper we describe how a simple change in the procedure makes it possible to use a composite day in Hocking's analysis. Also, we explain how a modified composite day can be constructed to test its ability to measure gravity wave momentum fluxes. Test results for specified mean, tidal, and gravity wave fields, including tidal amplitudes and gravity wave momentum fluxes varying strongly with altitude and/or time, suggest that the modified composite day allows characterization of monthly mean profiles of the gravity wave momentum fluxes, with good accuracy at least at the altitudes where the meteor counts are large (from 89 to 92.5 km. In the present work we also show that the variances measured with Hocking's method are often contaminated by the tidal fields and suggest a method of empirical correction derived from a simple simulation model. The results presented here greatly increase our confidence because they show that our technique is able to remove the tide-induced false variances from Hocking's analysis.

Kelley and Price [GRL, 44, 2987, 2017] recently indicated that ambipolar electric fields may play a role in dynamics of dense plasmas generated by meteors. In the present work we discuss time dynamics of relaxation of electron temperature in meteor trails under relatively common conditions when meteor trail diffusion is not affected by the geomagnetic field (i.e., at low altitudes where both electrons and ions are not magnetized, or at higher altitudes in the plane defined by the trail and magnetic field when meteor trail is not aligned with the geomagnetic field [Ceplecha et al., Space Sci. Rev., 84, 327, 1998, and references therein]). The rate of ambipolar diffusion is a function of temperature and pressure [e.g., Hocking et al., Ann. Geophys., 34, 1119, 2016; Silber et al., Mon. Not. RAS, 469, 1869, 2017] and there is a significant spectroscopic evidence of initial plasma temperatures in meteor trails on the order 4400 deg K [Jennikens et al., Astrobiology, 4, 81, 2004]. For a representative altitude of 105 km chosen for our studies the results are consistent with previous analysis conducted in [Baggeley and Webb, J. Atm. Terr. Phys., 39, 1399, 1977; Ceplecha et al., 1998] indicating that the electron temperature remains elevated for significant time durations measured in tens of milliseconds. Our results indicate that in terms of their magnitudes the ambipolar electric fields can exceed the critical breakdown field of air, consistent with ideas expressed by Kelley and Price [GRL, 44, 2987, 2017], however, under considered conditions these fields lead to acceleration of electron cooling, with electron temperatures falling below the ambient air temperature (below 224 deg K at 105 km altitude). These effects are referred to as diffusive cooling [e.g., Rozhansky and Tsendin, Transport phenomena in partially ionized plasma, Taylor & Francis, 2001, p. 449] and represent a process in which diffusing electrons move against the force acting on them from ambipolar

A positive correlation between the δ13C and δ18O values of carbonate rocks is a screening tool widely used to identify the overprint of meteoric diagenesis on the original isotopic composition of a sample. In particular, it has been suggested that systematic change from negative to positive δ13C and δ18O values with increasing depth in the core is an indicator of alteration within the zone of mixing between meteoric and marine waters. In this paper, we propose that such covariance is not generated within the traditionally defined mixing zone, and that positive correlations between δ13C and δ18O values in marine carbonates are not necessarily indicators of meteoric alteration. This new interpretation is based on data collected from the shallow sub-surface of the Bahamas, a region unequivocally influenced by meteoric waters to depths of at least 200 m below the current sediment-water interface. The classic interpretation of the diagenetic environments, based on changes in the δ13C and δ18O values, would suggest the maximum penetration of freshwater occurs between 65 and 100 m below seafloor. Below these depths, a strong positive covariation between the δ13C and δ18O values exists, and would traditionally be defined as the mixing zone. However, based upon known changes in sea level, the penetration of the freshwater lens extends significantly below this limit. We contend that the zone showing covariance of δ13C and δ18O values is actually altered within the freshwater lens, and not the mixing zone as previously proposed. The co-varying trend in δ13C and δ18O values is the result of diagenetic processes occurring at the interface between vadose and phreatic zones. Significantly greater rates of recrystallization and neomorphism are driven by the increased rates of oxidation of organic matter at this transition with progressively less alteration occurring with increasing depth. As sea level oscillates, the position of this interface moves through the

Magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits are important economic Cu, Au, Mo and Sn resources (Sillitoe, 2010, Kesler, 1994). The ore formation is a result of superimposed enrichment processes and metals can precipitate due to fluid-rock interaction and/or temperature drop caused by convection or mixing with meteoric fluid (Heinrich and Candela 2014). Microthermometry and LA-ICP MS trace element analyses of fluid inclusions of a well-characterized quartz sample from the Yankee Lode quartz-cassiterite vein deposit (Mole Granite, Australia) suggest that tin precipitation was driven by dilution of hot magmatic water by meteoric fluids (Audétat et al.1998). High resolution in situ oxygen isotope measurements of quartz have the potential to detect changing fluid sources during the evolution of a hydrothermal system. We analyzed the euhedral growth zones of this previously well-studied quartz sample. Growth temperatures are provided by Audétat et al. (1998) and Audétat (1999). Calculated δ 18O values of the quartz- and/or cassiterite-precipitating fluid show significant variability through the zoned crystal. The first and second quartz generations (Q1 and Q2) were precipitated from a fluid of magmatic isotopic composition with δ 18O values of ˜ 8 - 10 ‰. δ 18O values of Q3- and tourmaline-precipitating fluids show a transition from magmatic δ 18O values of ˜ 8 ‰ to ˜ -5 ‰. The outermost quartz-chlorite-muscovite zone was precipitated from a fluid with a significant meteoric water component reflected by very light δ 18O values of about -15 ‰ which is consistent with values found by previous studies (Sun and Eadington, 1987) using conventional O-isotope analysis of veins in the distal halo of the granite intrusion. Intense incursion of meteoric water during Q3 precipitation (light δ 18O values) agrees with the main ore formation event, though the first occurrence of cassiterite is linked to Q2 precipitating fluid with magmatic-like isotope signature. This

The relationship between the formation of sporadic layers of metallic ion and the dumping of these ions into the upper mesosphere is discussed in terms of the tidal wind, classical (i.e., windshear) and other more complex, perhaps highly nonlinear layer formation mechanisms, and a possible circulation mechanism for these ions. Optical, incoherent scatter radar, rocket, and satellite derived evidence for various layer formation mechanisms and for the metallic ion circulation system is reviewed. The results of simple one dimensional numerical model calculations of sporadic E and intermediate layer formation are presented along with suggestions for more advanced models of intense or blanketing sporadic E. The flux of metallic ions dumped by the tidal wind system into the mesosphere is estimated and compared with estimates of total particle flux of meteoric origin. Possible effects of the metallic ion flux and of meteoric dust on D region ion chemistry are discussed.

The mean contents of both oxygen-18 and deuterium in precipitation from the Ahaggar massif (central Sahara) are: δ 18 O = -3 per mille and 2 H = -15 per mille. The heterogeneity in meteoric events and the great scattering of these isotopic contents can be ascribed to the origins and the histories of air masses. The main contribution comes from the inflow of the Guinean monsoon during summer months. During winter, the N/W winds, arriving in the area from the Moroccan coast, provide some rains. The deuterium excess of these precipitation are up to +10 per mille, indicating that the air masses generating these rains are supplied by the recycling of the continental air moisture. Groundwater resources are produced in some little phreatic aquifers, which are recharged by sporadic wadi floods. Aquifer zones that are the most favourable are located in the valleys and occur as three overlying levels of unequal importance: the alluvial aquifer, the weathered zone of the underlying substratum and the deep aquifer of fissured basement. The alluvial aquifer contain weakly mineralised water (0.3 g/l). Their stable isotopes contents (δ 18 O∼ -2.7 per mille) and 14 C activity of them (> 100 pmc) are comparable to present meteoric water, allowing modern meteoric waters to be identified. The weathered zone groundwater's are more mineralised (0.8 g/l) and its isotopic contents (δ 18 O∼ -4.2 per mille) and intermediate radiocarbon activity, prove their old water component. The basement's groundwater are more mineralised (> 1 g/l) and their very depleted isotopic contents (δ 18 O∼ -9 per mille) diverge clearly from the present precipitation. Furthermore, the absence of 3 H and 14 C activity of them, prove an old heritage, resulting from recharge during the last humid episode of the Holocene. (author)

Full Text Available A time-resolved model of the Na layer in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere region is described, where the continuity equations for the major sodium species Na, Na+ and NaHCO3 are solved explicity, and the other short-lived species are treated in steady-state. It is shown that the diurnal variation of the Na layer can only be modelled satisfactorily if sodium species are permanently removed below about 85 km, both through the dimerization of NaHCO3 and the uptake of sodium species on meteoric smoke particles that are assumed to have formed from the recondensation of vaporized meteoroids. When the sensitivity of the Na layer to the meteoroid input function is considered, an inconsistent picture emerges. The ratio of the column abundance of Na+ to Na is shown to increase strongly with the average meteoroid velocity, because the Na is injected at higher altitudes. Comparison with a limited set of Na+ measurements indicates that the average meteoroid velocity is probably less than about 25 km s-1, in agreement with velocity estimates from conventional meteor radars, and considerably slower than recent observations made by wide aperture incoherent scatter radars. The Na column abundance is shown to be very sensitive to the meteoroid mass input rate, and to the rate of vertical transport by eddy diffusion. Although the magnitude of the eddy diffusion coefficient in the 80–90 km region is uncertain, there is a consensus between recent models using parameterisations of gravity wave momentum deposition that the average value is less than 3×105 cm2 s-1. This requires that the global meteoric mass input rate is less than about 20 td-1, which is closest to estimates from incoherent scatter radar observations. Finally, the diurnal variation in the meteoroid input rate only slight perturbs the Na layer, because the residence time of Na in the layer is several days, and diurnal effects are effectively averaged out.

The South Tibetan Detachment (STD) in the Himalayan orogen juxtaposes low-grade Tethyan Himalayan sequence sedimentary rocks over high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Himalayan crystalline core. We document infiltration of meteoric fluids into the STD footwall at 17-15 Ma, when recrystallized hydrous minerals equilibrated with low-δD (meteoric) water. Synkinematic biotite collected over 200 m of structural section in the STD mylonitic footwall (Rongbuk Valley, near Mount Everest) record high-temperature isotopic exchange with D-depleted water (δDwater = -150 ± 5‰) that infiltrated the ductile segment of the detachment most likely during mylonitic deformation, although later isotopic exchange cannot be definitively excluded. These minerals also reveal a uniform pattern of middle Miocene (15 Ma) 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages. The presence of low-δD meteoric water in the STD mylonitic footwall is further supported by hornblende and chlorite with very low δD values of -183‰ and -162‰, respectively. The δD values in the STD footwall suggest that surface-derived fluids were channeled down to the brittle-ductile transition. Migration of fluids from the Earth's surface to the active mylonitic detachment footwall may have been achieved by fluid flow along steep normal faults that developed during synconvergent extension of the upper Tethyan Himalayan plate. High heat flow helped sustain buoyancy-driven fluid convection over the timescale of detachment tectonics. Low δD values in synkinematic fluids are indicative of precipitation-derived fluids sourced at high elevation and document that the ground surface above this section of the STD had already attained similar-to-modern topographic elevations in the middle Miocene.

Nanometer- to micrometer-size particles present in the upper stratosphere are a mixture of terrestrial and extra-terrestrial origins. They can be extraterrestrial particles condensed after meteor ablation. Meteoric dust in bolides is occasionally deposited into the lower stratosphere around 20 km altitude. Nanometer CaO and pure carbon smoke particles were collected at 38 km altitude in the upper stratosphere in the Arctic during June 2008 using DUSTER (Dust in the Upper Stratosphere Tracking Experiment and Retrieval), a balloon-borne instrument for the non-destructive collection of solid particles between 200 nm to 40 microns. We report the collection of micron sized CaCO_3 (calcite) grains. Their morphologies show evidence of melting and condensation after vaporization suggest at temperatures of approximately 3500 K. The formation environment of the collected grains was probably a dense dust cloud formed by the disintegration of a carbonaceous meteoroid during deceleration in the Earthï¿½ atmosphere. For the first time, DUSTER collected meteor ablation products that were presumably associated with the disintegration of a bolide crossing the Earth's atmosphere. The collected mostly CaO and pure carbon nanoparticles from the debris cloud of a fireball, included: 1) intact fragments; 2) quenched melted grains; and 3) vapor phase condensation products. The DUSTER project was funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), PRIN2008/MIUR (Ministero dell'Istruzione dell'Universitá e della Ricerca), PNRA 2013(Piano Nazionale Ricerca Antartide). CNES graciously provided this flight opportunity. We thank E. Zona and S. Inarta at the Laboratorio di Fisica Cosmica INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte-Universitá di Napoli Parthenope. F.J.M.R. was supported by grant NNX07AI39G from the NASA Cosmochemistry Program. We thank three anonymous reviewers who assisted us in introducing our new instrument.

The first sounding rocket of the European ECOMA-project (ECOMA, Existence and Charge state Of Meteoric smoke particles in the middle Atmosphere) was launched on 8 September 2006. Measurements with a new particle detector described in the companion paper by Rapp and Strelnikova [2008. Measurements of meteor smoke particles during the ECOMA-2006 campaign: 1. Particle detection by active photoionization. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, this issue, doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2008.06.002] clearly showed meteor smoke particle (MSP) signatures in both data channels. The data channels measure particles directly impacting on the detector electrode and photoelectrons from the particles actively created using ionization by the UV-photons of a xenon-flashlamp. Measured photoelectron currents resemble model expectations of the shape of the MSP layer almost perfectly, whereas derived number densities in the altitude range 60-90 km are larger than model results by about a factor of 5. Given the large uncertainties inherent to both model and the analysis of our measurements (e.g., the composition of the particles is not known and must be assumed) we consider this a satisfactory agreement and proof that MSPs do extend throughout the entire mesosphere as predicted by models. The measurements of direct particle impacts revealed a confined layer of negative charge between 80 and 90 km. This limited altitude range, however, is quantitatively shown to be the consequence of the aerodynamics of the rocket flight and does not have any geophysical origin. Measured charge signatures are consistent with expectations of particle charging given our own measurements of the background ionization. Unfortunately, however, a contamination of these measurements from triboelectric charging cannot be excluded at this stage.

Meteoroids cannot be observed directly because of their small size. In-situ measurements of the meteoroid environment are rare and have very small collecting areas. The Moon, in contrast, has a large collecting area and therefore can be used as a large meteoroid detector for gram-kilogram sized particles. Meteoroids striking the Moon create an impact flash observable by Earth-based telescopes. Their kinetic energy is converted to luminous energy with some unknown luminous efficiency ?(v), which is likely a function of meteoroid velocity (among other factors). This luminous efficiency is imperative to calculating the kinetic energy and mass of the meteoroid, as well as meteoroid fluxes, and it cannot be determined in the laboratory at meteoroid speeds and sizes due to mechanical constraints. Since laboratory simulations fail to resolve the luminous efficiency problem, observations of the impact flash itself must be utilized. Meteoroids associated with specific meteor showers have known speed and direction, which simplifies the determination of the luminous efficiency. NASA has routinely monitored the Moon for impact flashes since early 2006 [1]. During this time, several meteor showers have produced multiple impact flashes on the Moon, yielding a sufficient sample of impact flashes with which to perform a luminous efficiency analysis similar to that outlined in Bellot Rubio et al. [2, 3] and further described by Moser et al. [4], utilizing Earth-based measurements of the shower flux and mass index. The Geminid meteor shower has produced the most impact flashes in the NASA dataset to date with over 80 detections. More than half of these Geminids were recorded in 2015 (locations pictured in Fig. 1), and may represent the largest single-shower impact flash sample known. This work analyzes the 2015 Geminid lunar impacts and calculates their luminous efficiency. The luminous efficiency is then applied to calculate the kinetic energies and mass-es of these shower

Full Text Available The genetic relationship of meteor streams with near-Earth asteroids (NEAs is being actively studied. A genetic link with the asteroid is possible only for streams in which meteoroids have the geocentric speed smaller than 50 km/s, thereby meaning the proportionality of their orbits with the orbits of asteroids. To date, there are about 40 such orphan streams with unknown parent bodies. In the paper, NEA groups (Aten, Apollo, Amor, and Atira have been considered from the perspective of possible search for the parent bodies of meteor streams among them. The groups have been compared based on the following parameters: eccentricity of asteroid orbits, as well as size and chemical composition of asteroids. Currently, it is considered that the surface of asteroids with elongated orbits is subjected to temperature fall: it is heated in perihelion and cooled in aphelion. Due to small orbital periods around the Sun (about 2–4 years, this may lead to formation of meteoroid clusters. Therefore, comparison of asteroids by their orbit shape and physicochemical parameters enables us to distinguish between NEA groups of asteroids and the Apollo group as most probable candidates to search for the parent bodies of meteor streams among NEAs. Unfortunately, finding physicochemical parameters poses great difficulties, since they are only detectable for some asteroids. At the same time, it is impossible to study asteroids dynamics, evolution, and relation with other bodies of the Solar system, as well as to realistically assess the impact of NEAs and products of their disintegration collision with the Earth and to develop systems of anti-asteroid protection without knowing the following parameters of asteroids: mineralogical composition, density, size, and accurate mass.

Future ventures back to the Moon, Mars, or the outer planets and natural solar system objects would benefit fiom high bandwidth communications capabilities that enable faster data transfer rates to and fiom the spacecraft. However, communication links for such missions are limited by the antenna aperture size, transceiver power, and range between the space vehicle communications system and the receiving systems on Earth. This dissertation proposes a novel approach for using naturally occurring meteor impact craters as the parabolic dish reflector for radio frequency antennas. Analysis and experimentation shows that for long radio wavelengths that meteor impact craters appear very similar in geometry to dish antennas. There are many craters on the lunar surface that fit very closely to dish geometries. Some of these craters are as large as 100 kilometers in diameter. The calculated data transmission rate achievable from such an antenna configuration is many times greater than currently available long range space communications systems. Preliminary experiments conducted using manmade craters demonstrated the possibility of the concept. A 20 m diameter crater was dug and implemented in a complex radio telescope configuration with receiver systems at multiple wavelengths. The electronic components were all inexpensive hobbyist components or homemade. The radio telescope system was successful in detecting radio signals from the Sun and from the Crab Nebula. Sidereal motion of the astronomical sources matched exactly to the time lapse of the detected signals. Further analysis suggests that this concept could be implemented in near-term missions to the Moon with currently available technology. Analysis suggests that a spacecraft orbiting the Moon at 100 km altitude could use very large craters as reflector dishes. Terrestrial based experiments using impact craters like the one in Meteor Crater, Arizona could be conducted to determine the impact of soil reflectivity

This work comprises three novel applications of in situ- and meteoric-produced beryllium-10 (Be-10) in East Antarctica. Sampled deposits cover a wide spatiotemporal transect through the Dry Valleys, from an inland, middle elevation location of Quaternary age, to a mid-valley, high elevation location of Miocene age, and finally to an offshore, submarine location of Pliocene age. Each research chapter we present is a unique project unto itself, but all chapters utilize the cosmogenic radionuclide Be-10. In the first application, we present "Difference Dating,'' a new approach to date glacial moraines in regions where traditional exposure age dating is fraught with complications. Difference Dating allows for the construction of deglaciation chronologies in regions where they are frequently precluded by inheritance issues. We use Difference Dating to constrain the ages of Quaternary moraines in an alpine glacial cirque, Wright Valley, Dry Valleys. The second and third applications use meteoric-produced Be-10 in two different depositional settings. In marine sediments, we recast the Be-10/Be-9 ratio as a proxy for East Antarctic Ice Sheet freshwater discharge during mid-Pliocene interglacials. Using this record, we suggest that zones of deep water formation may be significant in funneling Be into the global thermohaline circulation belt. We also apply the meteoric-produced Be-10 system to paleolake sediments, where extremely low concentrations are used to construct an age model extending to 14-17.5 Ma. This range is commensurate with lake sediment deposition during the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum, a rare Antarctic terrestrial deposit of this globally significant warming event.

Over 40 metric tons of meteoric dust enters the earth's atmosphere every day. This dust settles and creates natural dust layers in the altitude ranges between 80 and 100 kilometers which spans the earth's upper mesosphere to lower thermosphere. The dust layers in the lower atmosphere have a great impact on climate, human health as well as communication and navigation signals. The main goal of this study is the role of meteoric smoke particles on the formation of Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMC). Recent rocket experiments have detected the presence of these particles. Since these dust layers are immersed in the earth's upper atmosphere, they become charged due to collection of electrons and ions from the earth's ionospheric plasma. Noctilucent Clouds NLCs are a fascinating visual manifestation of these dust layers. So-called Polar Mesospheric Summer Echoes PMSEs are radar echoes that are a direct consequence of the sub-visible charged dust that exists at altitudes above NLC regions. Polar Mesospheric Summer Echoes (PMSE) are strong echoes that have been typically observed in the frequency range from 50MHz to 1.3GHz and in the altitude about 85km. Unlike PMSE, Polar mesospheric winter echoes (PMWE) are less known. PMWE appear at a lower altitude and is weaker in comparison with PMSE. The focus of this study is on meteoric smoke particles and how they affect PMWE source region. Parameters associated with smoke dust particles such as size distribution, charging characteristics, density and positive or negative charge will be considered. The second part of this presentation will be on the effect of gravity waves on PMC. Full coupling to a turbulent neutral field with a statistical analysis will be discussed. Impact of a neutral turbulence driving field on small amplitude plasma fluctuations in such a configuration and some of the important consequences will be also presented. This has important consequences for electric field and potential measurements on rocket probes as

We report in this and a companion paper [Fentzke, J.T., Janches, D., Sparks, J.J., 2008. Latitudinal and seasonal variability of the micrometeor input function: A study using model predictions and observations from Arecibo and PFISR. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, this issue, doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2008.07.015] a complete seasonal study of the micrometeor input function (MIF) at high latitudes using meteor head-echo radar observations performed with the Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar (PFISR). This flux is responsible for a number of atmospheric phenomena; for example, it could be the source of meteoric smoke that is thought to act as condensation nuclei in the formation of ice particles in the polar mesosphere. The observations presented here were performed for full 24-h periods near the summer and winter solstices and spring and autumn equinoxes, times at which the seasonal variability of the MIF is predicted to be large at high latitudes [Janches, D., Heinselman, C.J., Chau, J.L., Chandran, A., Woodman, R., 2006. Modeling of the micrometeor input function in the upper atmosphere observed by High Power and Large Aperture Radars, JGR, 11, A07317, doi:10.1029/2006JA011628]. Precise altitude and radar instantaneous line-of-sight (radial) Doppler velocity information are obtained for each of the hundreds of events detected every day. We show that meteor rates, altitude, and radial velocity distributions have a large seasonal dependence. This seasonal variability can be explained by a change in the relative location of the meteoroid sources with respect to the observer. Our results show that the meteor flux into the upper atmosphere is strongly anisotropic and its characteristics must be accounted for when including this flux into models attempting to explain related aeronomical phenomena. In addition, the measured acceleration and received signal strength distribution do not seem to depend on season; which may suggest that these observed

Recent work suggests that debris flow activity has occurred on Mars in the last few million years during high orbital obliquities, but estimating the amount and frequency of liquid water needed to generate these types of flows is still poorly constrained. While it is relatively common to estimate water amounts needed to produce landforms on Mars, such as gullies or alluvial fans, this is something rarely done on Earth. Consequently, there is little field data on the linkage between climate (snowmelt or rainfall events) and the amount of runoff needed to produce specific volumes of sediment in a landform. Here, we present field and modeling data from Meteor Crater, which is a ~50,000 year old impact crater in northern Arizona (USA). Though it is very well preserved, it has developed gullies along its inner wall, similar in form to many gullies on Mars. Meteor Crater, similar to many Martian craters, has also gone through a change in a climate based on the ~30 m of lake sediments on its now dry floor, and what has eroded from its walls has deposited on its floor, making it a closed system. We show using LiDAR-derived topographic data and field observations that debris flows, likely generated by runoff entrainment into talus bordering bedrock cliffs of the crater walls, drove erosion and deposition processes at Meteor Crater. Cosmogenic dating of levee deposits indicates that debris flows ceased in the early Holocene, synchronous with regional drying. For a water-to-rock ratio of 0.3 at the time of transport, which is based on data from rotating drum experiments, it would have taken ~150,000 m3 of water to transport the estimated ~500,000 m3 of debris flow deposits found at the surface of the crater floor. This extensive erosion would require less than 0.4 m of total runoff over the 0.35 km2 upslope source area of the crater, or ~26 mm of runoff per debris flow event. Much more runoff did occur however, as evidenced by lake deposits on the crater floor and Holocene

Full Text Available The temporal and height statistics of the occurrence of meteor trails during the Leonid meteor shower revealed the capability of the Indian MST radar to record large numbers of meteor trails. The distribution of radio meteor trails due to a Leonid meteor shower in space and time provided a unique opportunity to construct the height profiles of lower thermospheric temperatures and winds, with good time and height resolution. There was a four-fold increase in the meteor trails observed during the LMS compared to a typical non-shower day. The temperatures were found to be in excellent continuity with the temperature profiles below the radio meteor region derived from the co-located Nd-Yag LIDAR and the maximum height of the temperature profile was extended from the LIDAR to ~110 km. There are, how-ever, some significant differences between the observed profiles and the CIRA-86 model profiles. The first results on the meteor statistics and neutral temperature are presented and discussed below. Key words. Atmospheric composition and structure (pres-sure, density, and temperature History of geophysics (at-mospheric sciences Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (middle atmosphere dynamics

Meteoric diagenesis of carbonate ramps is often difficult to interpret and can commonly be confused with other coinciding diagenetic processes. The Middle Triassic Upper Muschelkalk of Switzerland provides an insightful case in which the effects of several overprinting diagenetic environments, including matrix dolomitization, can be clearly unravelled. Previous studies suggested that diagenesis took place in connate marine waters, with later meteoric waters being invoked to explain recrystallization of dolomite. In this study, diagenetic analyses (C-O stable isotope ratios, thin-section point counting, cathodoluminescence and UV-fluorescence microscopy) of calcitic bioclastic samples have revealed that early diagenesis (pre-stylolitization) and the accompanying porosity evolution did not occur exclusively in the presence of marine fluids. Five sequential stages of diagenesis have been identified: marine, shallow burial, mixing-zone, meteoric and dolomitization. Marine diagenesis induced precipitation of bladed and inclusion-rich syntaxial cements that fluoresce strongly under UV-light. Both cements account for a mean 7.5 vol% reduction in the porosity of bioclastic beds. Shallow burial diagenesis likely induced mouldic porosity and associated fluorescent dog-tooth cementation. Based on light oxygen isotope and elevated strontium isotope ratios, matrix aragonite-calcite neomorphism is interpreted to have occurred in a mixture of marine and meteoric fluids. The combination of shallow burial and mixing-zone processes reduced porosity on average by 4.8 vol%. Evidence for subsequent meteoric diagenesis is found in abundant dog-tooth and blocky calcite cements that have mean δ18OVPDB of - 9.36‰ and no signs of recrystallization. These meteoric cements reduced porosity by a further 13.4 vol%. Percolation of meteoric water through the ramp was driven by hydraulic gradients on an adjacent basement high, which was exposed by a cycle of early Ladinian regressions

A long-standing debate concerning Neogene Antarctic climate in the McMurdo Dry Valleys relies largely on evidence from landscape evolution, glacial modeling and stratigraphy. We provide new evidence from meteoric Be for the onset of frozen, hyper-arid conditions on a high elevation (1840m......) interfluve at Table Mountain. A simple decay model for the co-occurrence of meteoric Be and illuviated clay in cores of ice-cemented glacial sediments indicates that the clays were actively migrating down from the surface in a warm climate until the system froze between 6 and 9Ma. Although this age range may...

On 17 November 1998, a helium-filled weather balloon was launched into tfle strato- sphere, equipped with a xerogel microparticle collector. The three-hour flight was designed to sample the dust environment in the stratosphere during the Leonid meteor shower, and possibly to capture Leonid meteoroids. Environmental Scanning Election Microscope analyses of the returned collectors revealed the capture of a -30-pm particle. with a smooth, multigranular shape, and partially melted, translucent rims; similar to known Antarctic micrometeorites. Energy-dispersive X-ray Mass Spectroscopy shows en- riched concentrations of the non-volatile elements, Mg, Al, and Fe. The particle possesses a high magnesium to iron ratio of 2.96, similar to that observed in 1998 Leonids meteors (Borovicka, et al. 1999) and sharply higher than the ratio expected for typical material from the earth's crust. A statistical nearest-neighbor analysis of the abundance ratios Mg/Si, Al/Si, and Fe/Si demonstrates that the particle is most similar in composition to cosmic spherules captured during airplane flights throucrh the stratosphere. The mineralogical class is consistent with a stony (S) type of silicates. olivine [(Mg, Fe)2SiO4] and pyroxene [(Mg,Fe)SiO3]-or oxides, herecynite [(Fe,Mg) Al2O4]. Attribution to the debris stream of the Leonids' parent body, comet Tempel-Tuttle, would make it the first such material from beyond the orbit of Uranus positively identified on Earth.

We report 3 - 13 micron spectroscopyy of comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle on Feb 8 and 9 1998 UT (roughly three weeks before perihelion) using the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility and The Aerospace Corporation Broadband Array Spectrograph System (BASS) with a 3.2 arc second diameter beam. The spectra on both nights were very similar (within the formal errors), suggesting little, if any, night-to-night variation. The spectra showed a relatively smooth continuum that was well-fit from 3 to 13 microns by a 330 K grey body. This is considerably higher than than the black body radiative equilibrium temperature of 273 K. Significant features (such as the crystalline olivine 11.3 micron feature seen in comet Hale-Bopp) were noticeably absent. This is only one of a very few comets that have exhibited this grey-body continuum type of spectral shape, and the implications of this shape (on particle size, composition, thermal history, for example) will be explored. Because the dust from this comet forms the Leonid meteors, its properties are of particular interest to the meteor and spacecraft communities.

A computational approach used for subsurface explosion cratering was extended to hypervelocity impact cratering. Meteor (Barringer) Crater, Arizona, was selected for the first computer simulation because it is one of the most thoroughly studied craters. It is also an excellent example of a simple, bowl-shaped crater and is one of the youngest terrestrial impact craters. Initial conditions for this calculation included a meteorite impact velocity of 15 km/s, meteorite mass of 1.67 x 10/sup 8/ kg, with a corresponding kinetic energy of 1.88 x 10/sup 16/ J (4.5 megatons). A two-dimensional Eulerian finite difference code called SOIL was used for this simulation of a cylindrical iron projectile impacting at normal incidence into a limestone target. For this initial calculation, a Tillotson equation-of-state description for iron and limestone was used with no shear strength. Results obtained for this preliminary calculation of the formation of Meteor Crater are in good agreement with field measurements. A color movie based on this calculation was produced using computer-generated graphics. 19 figures, 5 tables, 63 references.

The major consequence of ozone layer depletion for the environment is an increase of harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation on the Earth surface and in the upper ocean. This implies the importance of environmental UV monitoring. Since the direct global monitoring is not currently possible, indirect estimations of surface UV levels may be used based on satellite ozone data (Madronich, S. 1992). Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) on board the METEOR-3 satellite provided regular set of data for such estimates. During the time of its operation (August, 1991 - December, 1994) the instrument registered several ozone hole events over Antarctica, when ozone levels dropped by as much as 60 % from their unperturbed values. Probably even more alarming ozone depletions were observed over highly populated regions of middle latitudes of northern hemisphere. Radiative transfer modeling was used to convert METEOR-3/TOMS daily ozone values into regional and global maps of biologically active UV. Calculations demonstrate the effect on surface UV levels produced by ozone hole over Antarctica and ozone depletions over the territory of Russia (March, 1994). UV contour lines deviate from the normal appearance which is determined by growing southward solar elevation. UV contour lines are almost perpendicular to the ozone ones in the ozone depletions areas. The 30 % ozone depletion, over Siberia caused more than 30 % increase in noontime erythemal UV levels, which is equivalent to 10-15 degrees southward latitude displacement. Higher UV radiation increases were found in ozone hole over South America (October 1992) equivalent to about 20 degrees southward displacement

An iridium anomaly at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary layer has been attributed to an extraterrestrial body that struck the Earth some 65 million years ago. It has been suggested that, during this event, the carrier of iridium was probably a micrometre-sized silicate-enclosed aggregate or the nanophase material of the vaporized impactor. But the fate of platinum-group elements (such as iridium) that regularly enter the atmosphere via ablating meteoroids remains largely unknown. Here we report a record of iridium and platinum fluxes on a climatic-cycle timescale, back to 128,000 years ago, from a Greenland ice core. We find that unexpectedly constant fallout of extraterrestrial matter to Greenland occurred during the Holocene, whereas a greatly enhanced input of terrestrial iridium and platinum masked the cosmic flux in the dust-laden atmosphere of the last glacial age. We suggest that nanometre-sized meteoric smoke particles, formed from the recondensation of ablated meteoroids in the atmosphere at altitudes >70 kilometres, are transported into the winter polar vortices by the mesospheric meridional circulation and are preferentially deposited in the polar ice caps. This implies an average global fallout of 14 +/- 5 kilotons per year of meteoric smoke during the Holocene.

An early method of biometeorological forecasts was developed for Cuba during the late 90s. It was based on the relationship between the daily occurrence of massive health crisis and the magnitude of the 24-h differences of partial density of oxygen in the air (PODA index). Ten years later, applying new technological facilities, a new model was developed in order to offer operational biometeorological forecast to Cuban health institutions. After a satisfactory validation process, the official bioforecast service to health institutions in Villa Clara province began on February of 2012. The effectiveness had different success levels: for the bronchial asthma crisis (94%), in the hypertensive crisis (88%), with the cerebrovascular illnesses (85%), as well as migraines (82%) and in case of cardiovascular diseases (75%) were acceptable. Since 2008, the application of the model was extended to other regions of the world, including some national applications. Furthermore, it allowed the beginning of regional monitoring of meteor-tropic effects, following the occurrence and movement of areas with higher weather contrasts, defined according to the normalized scale of PODA index. The paper describes the main regional results already available, with emphasis in the observed meteor-tropic effects increasing in all regions during recent years. It coincides with the general increase of energy imbalance in the whole climate system. Finally, the paper describes the current development of new global biometeorological forecast services.

Since early 2006, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has observed over 330 impact flashes on the Moon, produced by meteoroids striking the lunar surface. On 17 March 2013 at 03:50:54.312 UTC, the brightest flash of a 9-year routine observing campaign was observed by two 0.35 m telescopes at MSFC. The camera onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a NASA spacecraft mapping the Moon from lunar orbit, discovered the fresh crater associated with this impact [1] approximately 3 km from the location predicted by a newly developed geolocation technique [2]. The meteoroid impactor responsible for this event may have been part of a stream of large particles encountered by the Earth/Moon associated with the Virginid Meteor Complex, as evidenced by a cluster of five fireballs seen in Earth's atmosphere on the same night by the NASA All Sky Fireball Network [3] and the Southern Ontario Meteor Network [4]. Crater size calculations based on assumptions derived from fireball measurements yielded an estimated crater diameter of 10-23 m rim-to-rim using the Holsapple [5] and Gault [6] models, a result consistent with the observed crater measured to be 18 m across. This is the first time a lunar impact flash has been associated with fireballs in Earth's atmosphere and an observed crater.

An early method of biometeorological forecasts was developed for Cuba during the late 90s. It was based on the relationship between the daily occurrence of massive health crisis and the magnitude of the 24-h differences of partial density of oxygen in the air (PODA index). Ten years later, applying new technological facilities, a new model was developed in order to offer operational biometeorological forecast to Cuban health institutions. After a satisfactory validation process, the official bioforecast service to health institutions in Villa Clara province began on February of 2012. The effectiveness had different success levels: for the bronchial asthma crisis (94%), in the hypertensive crisis (88%), with the cerebrovascular illnesses (85%), as well as migraines (82%) and in case of cardiovascular diseases (75%) were acceptable. Since 2008, the application of the model was extended to other regions of the world, including some national applications. Furthermore, it allowed the beginning of regional monitoring of meteor-tropic effects, following the occurrence and movement of areas with higher weather contrasts, defined according to the normalized scale of PODA index. The paper describes the main regional results already available, with emphasis in the observed meteor-tropic effects increasing in all regions during recent years. It coincides with the general increase of energy imbalance in the whole climate system. Finally, the paper describes the current development of new global biometeorological forecast services.

A computational approach used for subsurface explosion cratering was extended to hypervelocity impact cratering. Meteor (Barringer) Crater, Arizona, was selected for the first computer simulation because it is one of the most thoroughly studied craters. It is also an excellent example of a simple, bowl-shaped crater and is one of the youngest terrestrial impact craters. Initial conditions for this calculation included a meteorite impact velocity of 15 km/s, meteorite mass of 1.67 x 10 8 kg, with a corresponding kinetic energy of 1.88 x 10 16 J (4.5 megatons). A two-dimensional Eulerian finite difference code called SOIL was used for this simulation of a cylindrical iron projectile impacting at normal incidence into a limestone target. For this initial calculation, a Tillotson equation-of-state description for iron and limestone was used with no shear strength. Results obtained for this preliminary calculation of the formation of Meteor Crater are in good agreement with field measurements. A color movie based on this calculation was produced using computer-generated graphics. 19 figures, 5 tables, 63 references

This book is meant for developers of all experience levels looking to create mobile and full-stack web applications in JavaScript. Many of the simple recipes can easily be followed by less-experienced developers, while some of the advanced recipes will require extensive knowledge of existing web, mobile, and server technologies. Any application or enterprise web developer looking to create full-stack JavaScript-based apps will benefit from the recipes and concepts covered in this book.

BACKGROUND: Cabozantinib is an oral inhibitor of tyrosine kinases including MET, VEGFR, and AXL. The randomised phase 3 METEOR trial compared the efficacy and safety of cabozantinib versus the mTOR inhibitor everolimus in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma who progressed after previous...

Introduction: The close encounter of Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) with Mars on 2014 Oct 19 at 1830h (UT) generated a lot of interest and modelling work [1] [2] [3] in the solar system community. A recent (on 2014 Nov 7) press release from NASA implied that a meteor shower was detected on Mars by their space instruments some hours after the comet-Mars close encounter. Various work [4] [5] [6] has suggested that very specific meteoroid sizes and ejection conditions may be required to produce meteor phenomena at Mars at the given times.Stream dynamics: Meteoroid stream modelling and their orbital geometry calculations have gained high precision over the years. In this work, we compute in detail the structure of the cloud of meteoroids released by C/2013 A1, showing its dependence on heliocentric ejection distances, 3-dimensional ejection velocities, and particle sizes. Our calculations using numerical integrator MERCURY, [7], incorporating radiation pressure, [8], show that ejection of particles at large heliocentric distances (about 7 au to 13 au) from C/2013 A1 could lead to evolution of a dense meteoroid cloud which intersects Mars a few hours after the comet-Mars close encounter. Hence this detection of a meteor shower on Mars by space instruments is an indirect confirmation of cometary activity at large distances which has rarely been observed directly by telescopes so far. Furthermore it shows that comprehensive threat estimation needs to be done for satellites orbiting the Earth when dynamically new comets come very close to the Earth in future.References:[1] Vaubaillon J., Macquet L., Soja R. 2014. MNRAS. 439: 3294.[2] Moorhead A. V., Wiegert P. A., Cooke W. J. 2014. Icarus. 231:13.[3] Ye Q.-Z., Hui M.-T., 2014, ApJ, 787: 115.[4] Farnocchia D. et al. 2014. ApJL. 790: 114.[5] Kelley M. S. P. et al. 2014, ApJL, 792: 16.[6] Tricarico P. et al., 2014, ApJL, 787: 35.[7] Chambers J. E. 1999. MNRAS. 304: 793.[8] Burns J. A, Lamy P. L., Soter S. 1979. Icarus. 40: 1.

Full Text Available Meteor head echo altitude distributions have been derived from data collected with the EISCAT VHF (224MHz and UHF (930MHz high-power, large-aperture (HPLA radars. At the high-altitude end, the distributions cut off abruptly in a manner reminiscent of the trail echo height ceiling effect observed with classical meteor radars. The target dimensions are shown to be much smaller than both the VHF and the UHF probing wavelengths, but the cutoff heights for the two systems are still clearly different, the VHF cutoff being located several km above the UHF one. A single-collision meteor-atmosphere interaction model is used to demonstrate that meteors in the (1.3–7.2µg mass range will ionise such that critical electron density at 224MHz is first reached at or around the VHF cutoff altitude and critical density at 930MHz will be reached at the UHF cutoff altitude. The observed seasonal variation in the cutoff altitudes is shown to be a function of the seasonal variation of atmospheric density with altitude. Assuming that the electron density required for detection is in the order of the critical density, the abrupt altitude cutoffs can be explained as a consequence of the micrometeoroid joint size-speed distribution dropping off so fast at the large-mass, high-velocity end that above a certain altitude the number of detectable events becomes vanishingly small. Conversely, meteors at the low-mass end of the distribution will be gradually retarded such that the ionisation they generate never reaches critical density. These particles will remain unobservable.Key words. Radio science (instruments and techniques – Interplatery physics (interplanetary dust – General or miscellaneous (new fields

This report describes 21 closely spaced heat flow measurements which were made along two survey lines in an area of faulted sediments east of Great Meteor Seamount in the Madeira Abyssal Plain. The heat flow was found to be correlated with basement topography as mapped by seismic reflection profiling. Data modelling suggests that this is due both to the thermal conductivity contrast between sediments and basement rocks and to the presence of hydrothermal circulation within basement highs. The existence of non-linear temperature profiles in sediments covering basement highs suggests that the underlying circulation is causing an upward movement of porewater. There is no firm evidence to show that the sediment faults act as preferred pathways for porewater advection. (author)

With the exception of three recovered meteorites with photographic fireball data (Pribram, Lost City, Innisfree), there is generally little information regarding the location of meteorites in the solar system prior to their impact on the earth. An investigation is conducted with the objective to identify those fireballs (bright meteor) data from the Prairie Network. The investigation is based on the belief that many small ordinary chondrites must be present among the photographed bright fireballs. Observations of the recovered fireballs are used to identify characteristics of their dynamics while passing through the atmosphere. In this way criteria are established for identifying those fireballs with similar dynamical characteristics. On the basis of the studies, a catalog is provided of fireballs which have a high probability of being ordinary chondrites or other strong meteorites.

The effects of irrigation water or soil salinity on physiological aspects of pea (Pisum sativum cv.Meteor) were contrived. Ten weeks old pea plants were treated with NaCl at 0, 40, 90 and 140 mM in nutrient solution Plants were grown in controlled environment and harvested at each 3 days interval for decisiveness 0 physiological parameters. Photosynthetic rate, relative water content, stomatal conductance and chlorophyll contents reduced by increasing the NaCI concentration while CO/sub 2/ concentration and free proline content intensified. By experiment it was adumbrated that high salinity level along with prolonged accentuate duration is more drastic to pea plants physiology. Results also exhibited that pea plants could indulge 40 and 90 mM NaCl but are sensitive to 140 mM. (author)

Solar cosmic rays (CR) investigations have been carried out by means of the Cherenkov detector installed on board the ''Meteor'' satellite. 66 events of solar CR were recorded beginning from March 1981 to May 1984 in the near space. During these events proton flux with the energy > 10 MeV constituted in the maximum >= 1 cm -2 x s -1 x sr -1 . Proton fluxes with the energy >600 MeV were recorded in 15 eVents. The constant South-North asymmetry of galactic CR proton gluxes with the energy E>600 MeV has been found out for the first time. Analysis of distribution forbush decrease number in amplitudes has been performed. It has been shown that 60% of forbush decreases have amplitudes about 5-10%

The paper begins with a discussion of the goals of metabolic predictions in early drug research, and some difficulties toward this objective, mainly the various substrate and product selectivities characteristic of drug metabolism. The major in silico approaches to predict drug metabolism are then classified and summarized. A discrimination is, thus, made between 'local' and 'global' systems. In its second part, an evaluation of METEOR, a rule-based expert system used to predict the metabolism of drugs and other xenobiotics, is reported. The published metabolic data of ten substrates were used in this evaluation, the overall results being discussed in terms of correct vs. disputable (i.e., false-positive and false-negative) predictions. The predictions for four representative substrates are presented in detail (Figs. 1-4), illustrating the interest of such an evaluation in identifying where and how predictive rules can be improved.

It is well known that the upward propagation of internal gravity waves from the lower atmo-sphere to the mesosphere plays an important role in the dynamics and energy balance of this region. Hocking (2005) developed a technique to calculate gravity wave momentum flux using meteor radar data. This technique is a generalization of the 2-beam technique of Vincent and Reid (1983). Hocking's technique uses radial velocity variances, from 80 to 100 km, which are mainly caused by gravity waves, to determine the gravity wave momentum fluxes. We apply this technique to data from a SKiMET meteor radar located at Santa Maria (29.7S, 53.7o W) during 2005. The data were analyzed in 3-km/2-h bins centered on 82, 85, 88 km etc. and 1, 3, 5 UT etc., generating monthly means. It was found that the meridional variances showed a fairly constant behavior throughout the year, with maximum at around 90 km. The zonal and vertical variances were less consistent. The monthly means of the horizontal momentum flux, uv, showed an oscillatory behavior with phase decreasing with increasing altitude and similar behavior was observed in the v'w' component. Although the behavior of u'w' was observed to be oscillatory, its phase did not show altitude propagation. In order to study the features of gravity wave activity in different latitude these results will be compared with two other radars located at São João do Cariri (7.3S, 36.4W) and Cachoeira Paulista (22.7S, 45.0W) for the a a same period.

We present a new design of an in situ detector for the study of meteor smoke particles (MSPs) in the middle atmosphere. This detector combines a classical Faraday cup with a xenon-flashlamp for the active photoionization/photodetachment of MSPs and the subsequent detection of corresponding photoelectrons. This instrument was successfully launched in September 2006 from the Andøya Rocket Range in Northern Norway. A comparison of photocurrents measured during this rocket flight and measurements performed in the laboratory proves that observed signatures are truly due to photoelectrons. In addition, the observed altitude cut-off at 60 km (i.e., no signals were observed below this altitude) is fully understood in terms of the mean free path of the photoelectrons in the ambient atmosphere. This interpretation is also proven by a corresponding laboratory experiment. Consideration of all conceivable species which can be ionized by the photons of the xenon-flashlamp demonstrates that only MSPs can quantitatively explain the measured currents below an altitude of 90 km. Above this altitude, measured photocurrents are most likely due to photoionization of nitric oxide. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the active photoionization and subsequent detection of photoelectrons provides a promising new tool for the study of MSPs in the middle atmosphere. Importantly, this new technique does not rely on the a priori charge of the particles, neither is the accessible particle size range severely limited by aerodynamical effects. Based on the analysis described in this study, the geophysical interpretation of our measurements is presented in the companion paper by Strelnikova, I., et al. [2008. Measurements of meteor smoke particles during the ECOMA-2006 campaign: 2. results. Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, this issue, doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2008.07.011].

In addition to its LDL-C-lowering effects, statin treatment reduces the level of C-reactive protein (CRP). Long-term data on this effect in low-risk populations are limited. Furthermore, whether the CRP reduction is a consequence of LDL-C lowering or occurs independently remains unclear. We studied these aspects in the Measuring Effects on intima media Thickness: an Evaluation Of Rosuvastatin (METEOR) study, a randomized placebo-controlled trial amongst 984 low-risk subjects. METEOR is a randomized placebo-controlled trial that evaluated the effect of 40 mg of rosuvastatin on 2-year change in carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) amongst 984 low-risk patients (10-year Framingham risk or = 1.2 and < 3.5 mm) and elevated LDL-C. CRP levels were measured at baseline and after 2 years of treatment. Median baseline CRP was 1.4 mg L(-1). Rosuvastatin lowered CRP significantly compared with placebo: -36% in the rosuvastatin group versus no change in the placebo group. There was no relation between change in CRP and change in LDL-C (Spearman correlation: 0.08; SE: 0.04). Stratified analyses showed that the CRP-lowering effect was present amongst all strata of baseline characteristics, including baseline lipids and CRP levels. However, the magnitude of CRP reduction was larger amongst women and participants older than 60 years. Rosuvastatin (40 mg) lowers CRP independently from its effects on LDL-C in low-risk subjects with normal baseline CRP levels and modest CIMT.

Full Text Available We have developed an automated analysis scheme for meteor head echo observations by the 46.5 MHz Middle and Upper atmosphere (MU radar near Shigaraki, Japan (34.85° N, 136.10° E. The analysis procedure computes meteoroid range, velocity and deceleration as functions of time with unprecedented accuracy and precision. This is crucial for estimations of meteoroid mass and orbital parameters as well as investigations of the meteoroid-atmosphere interaction processes. In this paper we present this analysis procedure in detail. The algorithms use a combination of single-pulse-Doppler, time-of-flight and pulse-to-pulse phase correlation measurements to determine the radial velocity to within a few tens of metres per second with 3.12 ms time resolution. Equivalently, the precision improvement is at least a factor of 20 compared to previous single-pulse measurements. Such a precision reveals that the deceleration increases significantly during the intense part of a meteoroid's ablation process in the atmosphere. From each received pulse, the target range is determined to within a few tens of meters, or the order of a few hundredths of the 900 m long range gates. This is achieved by transmitting a 13-bit Barker code oversampled by a factor of two at reception and using a novel range interpolation technique. The meteoroid velocity vector is determined from the estimated radial velocity by carefully taking the location of the meteor target and the angle from its trajectory to the radar beam into account. The latter is determined from target range and bore axis offset. We have identified and solved the signal processing issue giving rise to the peculiar signature in signal to noise ratio plots reported by Galindo et al. (2011, and show how to use the range interpolation technique to differentiate the effect of signal processing from physical processes.

Little is known on how well targeted treatment, for instance targeting towards low DAS, is implemented in clinical practice. Our aim was to evaluate treatment adjustments in response to DAS in RA patients in clinical practice. We used data from one referral centre, multiple rheumatologists, from the METEOR database. Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) were used to assess whether in case of non-low disease activity (DAS > 2.4) treatment intensifications in DMARD therapy occurred ((change or increase in dose or number of DMARDs, including synthetic (s)DMARDs, biologic (b)DMARDs and corticosteroids compared to the visit before)). Determinants of not intensifying the treatment when DAS > 2.4 were investigated using GEE. Five thousand one hundred fifty-seven registered visits of 1202 patients were available for the analyses. A DAS > 2.4 was weakly (OR: 1.19; 95% CI 1.07-1.33) associated with a treatment intensification. In 69% (n = 3577) of the visits patients were in low disease activity. In 66% (n = 1028) of the visits with DAS > 2.4 treatment was not intensified. These patients had a higher tender joint count and received more often methotrexate plus a bDMARD, or csDMARD monotherapy, as compared to patients that received treatment intensification. In the majority of visits in the METEOR database patients were already in a state of low disease activity, reflecting appropriate treatment intensity. When DAS was greater than 2.4, treatment was often not intensified due to high tender joint count or specific treatment combinations. This data suggest that while aiming for low DAS, physicians per patient weigh whether all DAS elements indicate disease activity or will respond to DMARD adjustment or not, and make treatment decisions accordingly.

Full Text Available The current primary radar method for determination of atmospheric momentum fluxes relies on multiple beam studies, usually using oppositely directed coplanar beams. Generally VHF and MF radars are used, and meteor radars have never been successfully employed. In this paper we introduce a new procedure that can be used for determination of gravity wave fluxes down to time scales of 2-3h, using the SKiYMET meteor radars. The method avoids the need for beam forming, and allows simultaneous determination of the three components of the wind averaged over the radar volume, as well as the variance and flux components , where refers to the fluctuating eastward wind, refers to the fluctuating northward wind, and refers to the fluctuating vertical wind. Data from radars in New Mexico and Resolute Bay are used to illustrate the data quality, and demonstrate theoretically expected seasonal forcing.

The uptake of water from the surface of the leaves, called foliar uptake, is common when rainfall is scarce and non-meteoric water (dew or fog) is the only source of water. However, many species have very water repellent leaves. Past studies have not differentiated between the uptake of water and the impact of the droplets on the energy balance of the leaf, which we call 'foliar shielding'. Leaves of the hydrophobic Colocasia esculenta were misted with isotopically enriched water in order to mimic non-meteoric water deposition. The leaf water potential and water isotopes were monitored for different water-stress conditions. A new protocol was developed for the fast analysis of leaf water isotopes using the Picarro induction module coupled to a laser spectrometer. Comparing the isotopic composition of the bulk leaf water at the end of the experiment, the misted leaves exhibit a d-excess higher by c. 63‰ than the control ones (P < 0.001). Low d-excess values are commonly associated with a high transpiration rate. Linking isotopic enrichment with leaf transpiration rate, we find a c. 30% decrease in transpiration rate for the treated leaves compared to the control (P < 0.001). Water-stressed leaves that were misted regularly exhibit a c. 64% smaller decline in water potential than water-stressed leaves that did not get misted (P < 0.05). Three possible mechanisms are proposed for the interaction of water droplets with the leaf energy and water balance. Comparing three previous foliar uptake studies to our results, we conclude that foliar shielding has a comparable yet opposite effect to foliar uptake on leaf water isotopes and that it is necessary to consider both processes when estimating foliar uptake of fog water.

The IOC-Germany Advanced Training Course on Bathymetric Charting in the Western Indian Ocean took place in Durban, South Africa, and on board R.V. METEOR during cruise M33/3 from Durban to Cape Town, from 15 to 29 December 1995. It was a follow-up of a similar, more basic course held in Madagascar and on board R.V. METEOR in 1987. The Course profited from the fact that in 1995 R.V. METEOR spent several months in the Indian Ocean to do research for the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WO...

Quantifying rates of weathering and erosion of mafic rocks is essential for estimating changes to the oceans alkalinity budget that plays a significant role in regulating atmospheric CO2 levels. In this study, we present catchment-wide rates of weathering, erosion, and denudation measured with cosmogenic nuclides in mafic and ultramafic rock. We use the ratio of the meteoric cosmogenic nuclide 10Be, deposited from the atmosphere onto the weathering zone, to stable 9Be, a trace metal released by silicate weathering. We tested this approach in stream sediment and water from three upland forested catchments in the north-west Czech Republic. The catchments are underlain by felsic (granite), mafic (amphibolite) and ultramafic (serpentinite) lithologies. Due to acid rain deposition in the 20th century, the waters in the granite catchment exhibit acidic pH, whereas waters in the mafic catchments exhibit neutral to alkaline pH values due to their acid buffering capability. The atmospheric depositional 10Be flux is estimated to be balanced with the streams' dissolved and particulate meteoric 10Be export flux to within a factor of two. We suggest a correlation method to derive bedrock Be concentrations, required as an input parameter, which are highly heterogeneous in these small catchments. Derived Earth surface metrics comprise (1) Denudation rates calculated from the 10Be/9Be ratio of the "reactive" Be (meaning sorbed to mineral surfaces) range between 110 and 185 t km-2 y-1 (40 and 70 mm ky-1). These rates are similar to denudation rates we obtained from in situ-cosmogenic 10Be in quartz minerals present in the bedrock or in quartz veins in the felsic and the mafic catchment. (2) The degree of weathering, calculated from the fraction of 9Be released from primary minerals as a new proxy, is about 40-50% in the mafic catchments, and 10% in the granitic catchment. Lastly, (3) erosion rates were calculated from 10Be concentrations in river sediment and corrected for sorting

In addition to planetary perturbations, the small particles which make up a meteor stream are subject to outward radiation pressure and the Poynting-Robertson effect. New particles can also be generated in a stream through being released from the nucleus of a comet. The author summarises the main physical effects, discusses models for meteor stream evolution and gives a brief account of the observational data available. (Auth.)

Complete text of publication follows. Up to date (2008), 174 terrestrial impact craters have been explored on the Earth's surface. They were created by hitting asteroids, meteorites and/or comets. The most famous and well-preserved meteorite crater is the Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona, USA which is approximately 50,000 years old. It was created by an iron meteorite. In recent years, much effort has been devoted to the elemental characterization of various impact materials collected in its near environment by the leadership of the late Prof. Gyula Szoeor. Especially, their Fe-rich inclusions were studied supposedly originated from the projectile of the impacted meteorite. In this report, results for some non-spherical, aggregate-like specimens are shown. The application of Scanning Electron Microscope combined with Energy Dispersive Xray Analysis (SEM-EDX) and a Scanning Nuclear Microprobe (SNM) is a powerful technique for the complex characterization of such materials. SEM provides the fine textural information and the concentration of the major elements. SNM with Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) method serves for the determination of both the major constituents and the important minor and trace elements such as the Platinum Group Elements (PGEs): Ru, Rh, Pd, etc. In this report analytical data are presented for S-Fe-Ni-Cu systems in order to feature the major characteristics of impact metamorphism of materials. A part of the work was presented in the 11th Int. Conf. on Nuclear Microprobe Technology and Applications (Hungary) and 71st Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society (Japan) conferences. Detailed results are under publication in a NIM B volume. Acknowledgements Support from the EU co-funded Economic Competitiveness Operative Programme GVOP- 3.2.1.-2004-04-0402/3.0, the Hungarian-Slovenian intergovernmental S and T cooperation program (SLO-16/2005 GVOP) as well as from the Hungarian Research Foundation (OTKA) under contract No T046579 are

Deep erosional gullies dissect landscapes around the world. Existing erosion models focus on predicting where gullies might begin to erode, but identifying where existing gullies were initiated and under what conditions is difficult, especially when historical records are unavailable. Here we outline a new approach for fingerprinting alluvium and tracing it back to its source by combining bulk sediment optically stimulated luminescence (bulk OSL) and meteoric 10Be (10Bem) measurements made on...

Mean isotopic values in stream water at small catchments (Merced River Basin (1,873 km2), showing a δ2H elevation gradient of -1.9‰/100m for meteoric water. Contributions of meteoric water to stream flow at different catchment scales from three elevation bands (350-1,600m, 1,600-2,800m and 2,800-4,000m) were simulated using δ2H elevation gradient in a mixing model for the water years 2006-2008. Uncertainties were calculated by a Monte Carlo procedure with the range of δ2H values determined by the δ2H elevation gradient. The results indicate that up to 80-90% of stream flow during snowmelt season were from meteoric water with high and mid band signatures. After snow cover was depleted below 2,800m in summer and fall, contributions of meteoric water with low band signature became significantly increased, even dominated at large catchment scales (e.g., a peak occurred in October 2007, with 33% and 54% of stream flow at drainage areas of 833 and 1,873km2, respectively). Daily runoff yield (mm day-1) with high band signature was 2-5 times higher than that with mid band signature throughout 2006-2008. The runoff yield with a low band signature was 2-4 times higher than that with a mid band signature during low flows. These results suggest that montane stream flows may be sensitive to the decrease of snow relative to rain occurring in the spring, but not significantly during summer and fall in the catchments in the Sierra Nevada.

The Hypervelocity Free Flight Aerodynamic Facility at NASA Ames Research Center provides a potential platform for the experimental simulation of meteor breakup at conditions that closely match full-scale entry condition for select parameters. The poster describes the entry environment simulation capabilities of the Hypervelocity Free Flight Aerodynamic Facility (HFFAF) at NASA Ames Research Center and provides example images of the fragmentation of a hypersonic projectile for which break-up was initiated by mechanical forces (impact with a thin polymer diaphragm).

When a comet , asteroid or meteoroid impact with a planet several things can happen depending on the mass, velocity and composition of the impactor, if the planet or moon has an atmosphere or not, and the angle of impact. On bodies without an atmosphere like Mercury or the Moon, every object that strikes their surfaces produces impact craters with sizes ranging from centimeters to hundreds and even thousands of kilometers across. On bodies with an atmosphere, this encounter can produce impact craters, meteorites, meteors and fragmentation. Each one of these phenomena is interesting because they provide information about the surfaces and the geological evolution of solar system bodies. Meteors are luminous wakes on the sky due to the interaction between the meteoroid and the Earth's atmosphere. A meteoroid is asteroidal or cometary material ranging in size from 2 mm to a few tens of meters. The smallest tend to evaporate at heights between 80 and 120 km. Objects of less than 2 mm are called micrometeorites. If the meteor brightness exceeds the brightness of Venus, the phenomenon is called a bolide or fireball. If a meteoroid, or a fragment of it, survives atmospheric ablation and it can be recovered on the ground, that piece is called a meteorite. Most meteoroids 2 meters long fragment suddenly into the atmosphere, it produces a shock wave that can affect humans and their environment like the Chelyabinsk event occurred on February 15, 2013 an two less energetic events in Mexico in 2010 and 2011. To understand the whole phenomenon, we proposed a video camera network for observing meteors. The objectives of this network are to: a) contribute to the study of the fragmentation of meteoroids in the Earth's atmosphere, b) determine values of important physical parameters; c) study seismic waves produced by atmospheric shock waves, d) study the dynamics of meteoroids and f) recover and study meteorites. During this meeting, the progress of the project will be presented.

Impact materials collected at the Barringer Meteor Crater have been characterized by SEM-EDX and micro-PIXE techniques. Fine textural and true elemental images were created. As a main feature silica-bearing shell and an S-Fe-Ni-Cu core could be distinguished. Three different types of S-Fe-Ni-Cu systems were identified such as chalcopyrite, pentlandite and pyrrhotite.

Barringer Meteorite Crater or Meteor Crater, AZ, has been a site of high interest for lunar and Mars analog crater and terrain studies since the early days of the Apollo-Saturn program. It continues to be a site of exceptional interest to lunar, Mars, and other planetary crater and impact analog studies because of its relatively young age (est. 50 thousand years) and well-preserved structure. High resolution (2 meter to 1 decimeter) digital terrain models of Meteor Crater in whole or in part were created at NASA Stennis Space Center to support several lunar surface analog modeling activities using photogrammetric and ground based laser scanning techniques. The dataset created by this activity provides new and highly accurate 3D models of the inside slope of the crater as well as the downslope rock distribution of the western ejecta field. The data are presented to the science community for possible use in furthering studies of Meteor Crater and impact craters in general as well as its current near term lunar exploration use in providing a beneficial test model for lunar surface analog modeling and surface operation studies.

The features of 238 hyperbolic meteors observed within the framework of the Japanese program SonotaCo in the period of 2007-2009 are investigated in this paper. Irregularity of the eccentricities, explicitly dominance of retrograde orbits over direct ones, absence of domination of perihelia closes the ecliptic, irregular distribution of angular elements for these bodies' orbits were noticed. The values of eccentricities are distributed in the interval from 1 up to 1.31. The significant concentration of these particles perihelia closes the anti-apex of the Sun's peculiarity movements in the Galaxy was noticed. Distribution of elements of orbits in the galactic system of coordinates was considered also, however it was not possible to find the appreciable regularities. The distributions of the distant nodes and MOID-Minimum Orbit Intersection Distance of the hyperbolic meteors relatively to the orbits of the planets-giants were investigated as well. However it was not possible to prove, that the majority of the particles could receive the hyperbolic excess of speed due to the gravitational influence of the planets-giants. The statistics of relation of the hyperbolic meteors with 14 known trans-Neptunian planetary bodies brighter 3m.5 is considered. Testing of the distant nodes and MOID values only for 2003 MW12, 2007 OR10 and Qaoaor have the positive results. In the next stage we have made analogical calculations for the 78 TNO having absolute brightness 5m.5 also and obtained the reasonable results for 9 of them.

Extraterrestrial organic matter may have been chemically altered into forms more ameanable for prebiotic chemistry in the wake of a meteor after ablation. We measured the rate of cooling of the plasma in the meteor wake from the intensity decay just behind a meteoroid by freezing its motion in high frame-rate 1000 frames/s video images, with an intensified camera that has a short phosphor decay time. Though the resulting cooling rate was found to be lower than theoretically predicted, our calculations indicated that there would have been insufficient collisions to break apart large organic compounds before most reactive radicals and electrons were lost from the air plasma. Organic molecules delivered from space to the early Earth via meteors might therefore have survived in a chemically altered form. In addition, we discovered that relatively small meteoroids generated far-ultraviolet emission that is absorbed in the immediate environment of the meteoroid, which may chemically alter the atmosphere over a much larger region than previously recognized.

In several statin trials, vascular event rates for treatment groups begin to separate 1 year after commencement of treatment. For atherosclerosis progression, the temporal sequence of the effect has not been defined. We used data from the Measuring Effects on intima media Thickness: an Evaluation Of Rosuvastatin (METEOR) trial to determine the earliest time point at which significant differences in atherosclerosis progression rates could be detected after initiation of statin therapy. The METEOR trial was a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial that studied the effect of LDL-C lowering with 40 mg rosuvastatin on the rate of change of carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) measured by B-mode ultrasound amongst 984 low risk subjects. Ultrasound assessments were made at baseline and every 6 months up to 2 years. Rosuvastatin treatment was associated with a 49% reduction in LDL-C-C, a 34% reduction in total cholesterol, an 8.0% increase in HDL-C and a 16% reduction in triglycerides (all P METEOR.

Why does the Sun shine? Today we know the answer to the question and we also know that earlier answers were quite wrong. The problem of the source of solar energy became an important part of physics and astronomy only with the emergence of the law of energy conservation in the 1840s. The first theory of solar heat based on the new law, due to J.R. Mayer, assumed the heat to be the result of meteors or asteroids falling into the Sun. A different and more successful version of gravitation-to-heat energy conversion was proposed by H. Helmholtz in 1854 and further developed by W. Thomson. For more than forty years the once so celebrated Helmholtz-Thomson contraction theory was accepted as the standard theory of solar heat despite its prediction of an age of the Sun of only 20 million years. In between the gradual demise of this theory and the radically different one based on nuclear processes there was a period in which radioactivity was considered a possible alternative to gravitational contraction. The essay discusses various pre-nuclear ideas of solar energy production, including the broader relevance of the question as it was conceived in the Victorian era.

Meteor echoes come from random points in the observation volume, and are irregularly spaced in time. This precludes the use of fast fourier transformations (FFT) techniques on the raw data to give the spectrum of waves that are present. One way around this obstacle is to restrict our interest to a particular class of waves, and fit a corresponding model to the raw data. It is assumed that there is no horizontal variation across the observation volume for tides, but in the vertical this is certainly not the case. If, in addition, we are interested in other types of waves which may be present and whose periods are unknown, then examining the raw line-of-sight velocities does not tell us how to modify the model, since the line-of-sight direction is not fixed. This is the motivation for interpolation. Interpolation takes a temporal series of line-of-sight velocities, and transforms it to a temporal series of wind velocities for each orthogonal direction. The velocities along a given direction can then be examined readily for any waves in addition to tides.

Physics of atmospheric entry of meteoroids was an active area of research at NASA ARC up to the early 1970s (e.g., the oft-cited work of Baldwin and Sheaffer). However, research in the area seems to have ended with the Apollo program, and any ties with an active international meteor physics community seem to have significantly diminished thereafter. In the decades following the 1970s, the focus of entry physics at NASA ARC has been on improvement of the math models of shock-layer physics (especially in chemical kinetics and radiation) and thermal response of ablative materials used for capsule heatshields. With the overarching objectives of understanding energy deposition into the atmosphere and fragmentation, could these modern analysis tools and processes be applied to the problem of atmospheric entry of meteoroids as well? In the presentation we will explore: (i) the physics of atmospheric entries of meteoroids using our current state-of-the-art tools and processes, (ii) the influence of shape (and shape change) on flow characteristics, and (iii) how multiple bodies interact.

In Denmark 4,456 metal-on-metal (MoM) hip prostheses have been implanted. Evidence demonstrates that some patients develope adverse biological reactions causing failures of MoM hip arthroplasty. Some reactions might be systemic. Failure rates are associated with the type and the design of the Mo...

Porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and metallated porous MOFs are provided. Also provided are methods of metallating porous MOFs using atomic layer deposition and methods of using the metallated MOFs as catalysts and in remediation applications.

Porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and metallated porous MOFs are provided. Also provided are methods of metallating porous MOFs using atomic layer deposition and methods of using the metallated MOFs as catalysts and in remediation applications.

Full Text Available The All-Sky interferometric meteor (SKYiMET radar (MR derived winds in the vicinity of the equatorial electrojet (EEJ are discussed. As Thumba (8.5° N, 77° E; dip lat. 0.5° N is under the EEJ belt, there has been some debate on the reliability of the meteor radar derived winds near the EEJ height region. In this regard, the composite diurnal variations of zonal wind profiles in the mesosphere-lower thermosphere (MLT region derived from TIMED Doppler Interferometer (TIDI and ground based meteor radar at Thumba are compared. In this study, emphasis is given to verify the meteor radar observations at 98 km height region, especially during the EEJ peaking time (11:00 to 14:00 LT. The composite diurnal cycles of zonal winds over Thumba are constructed during four seasons of the year 2006 using TIDI and meteor radar observations, which showed good agreement especially during the peak EEJ hours, thus assuring the reliability of meteor radar measurements of neutral winds close to the EEJ height region. It is evident from the present study that on seasonal scales, the radar measurements are not biased by the EEJ. The day-time variations of HF radar measured E-region drifts at the EEJ region are also compared with MR measurements to show there are large differences between ionospheric drifts and MR measurements. The significance of the present study lies in validating the meteor radar technique over Thumba located at magnetic equator by comparing with other than the radio technique for the first time.

In Denmark 4,456 metal-on-metal (MoM) hip prostheses have been implanted. Evidence demonstrates that some patients develope adverse biological reactions causing failures of MoM hip arthroplasty. Some reactions might be systemic. Failure rates are associated with the type and the design of the Mo......M hip implant. A Danish surveillance programme has been initiated addressing these problems....

A high-fidelity approach for simulating the aerothermodynamic environments of meteor entries is developed. Two primary components of this model are coupled radiation and coupled ablation. Coupled radiation accounts for the impact of radiation on the flow field energy equations, while coupled ablation explicitly models the injection of ablation products within the flow field and radiation simulations. For a meteoroid with a velocity of 20 km/s, coupled radiation reduces the stagnation point radiative heating by over 60%. For altitudes below 40 km, the impact of coupled radiation on the flow field structure is shown to be fundamentally different, as a result of the large optical thicknesses, than that seen for reentry vehicles, which do not reach such altitudes at velocities greater than 10 km/s. The impact of coupled ablation (with coupled radiation) is shown to provide at least a 70% reduction in the radiative heating relative to the coupled-radiation-only cases. This large reduction is partially the result of the low ionization energies, relative to air species, of ablation products. The low ionization energies of ablation products, such as Mg and Ca, provide strong photoionization and atomic line absorption in regions of the spectrum that air species do not. MgO and CaO are also shown to provide significant absorption. Turbulence is shown to impact the distribution of ablation products through the shock- layer, which results in up to a 100% increase in the radiative heating downstream of the stagnation point. To create a database of heat transfer coefficients the developed model was applied to a range of cases. This database considered velocities ranging from 14 to 20 km/s, altitudes ranging from 20 to 50 km, and nose radii ranging from 1 to 100 m. The heat transfer coefficients from these simulations are below 0.045 for the range of cases (with turbulence), which is significantly lower than the canonical value of 0.1.

Optical observations of the Phoenicid meteor shower were made in North Carolina, USA, with seven video cameras and two digital cameras over a period of about 5 hr between 22:30 UT on 2014 December 1 and 04:00 UT on December 2. Activity of the Phoenicids was confirmed during this period, including the predicted maximum around 00 h UT on December 2. The activity level was not high, considering that 29 Phoenicid meteors and 109 non-Phoenicid meteors were detected. A gentle peak in the activity was recognized between 01:00 UT and 03:00 UT on December 2. The compact radiant of the Phoenicids agreed well with what was predicted. A comparison of the observed and predicted peak times, radiant position, bright meteors' dominance, and radiants' spread revealed that the observed meteors originated from the dust trails formed by comet 289P/Blanpain at the perihelion passage in the early 20th century. This indicates that the parent body of the Phoenicids, comet 289P/Blanpain, was still active as a comet in the early 20th century and provided meteoroids, although its activity level was significantly weaker than that at the beginning of the 19th century.

We present an initial survey in the southern sky of the sporadic meteoroid orbital environment obtained with the Southern Argentina Agile MEteor Radar (SAAMER) Orbital System (OS), in which over three-quarters of a million orbits of dust particles were determined from 2012 January through 2015 April. SAAMER-OS is located at the southernmost tip of Argentina and is currently the only operational radar with orbit determination capability providing continuous observations of the southern hemisphere. Distributions of the observed meteoroid speed, radiant, and heliocentric orbital parameters are presented, as well as those corrected by the observational biases associated with the SAAMER-OS operating parameters. The results are compared with those reported by three previous surveys performed with the Harvard Radio Meteor Project, the Advanced Meteor Orbit Radar, and the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar, and they are in agreement with these previous studies. Weighted distributions for meteoroids above the thresholds for meteor trail electron line density, meteoroid mass, and meteoroid kinetic energy are also considered. Finally, the minimum line density and kinetic energy weighting factors are found to be very suitable for meteoroid applications. The outcomes of this work show that, given SAAMERs location, the system is ideal for providing crucial data to continuously study the South Toroidal and South Apex sporadic meteoroid apparent sources.

We present an initial survey in the southern sky of the sporadic meteoroid orbital environment obtained with the Southern Argentina Agile MEteor Radar (SAAMER) Orbital System (OS), in which over three-quarters of a million orbits of dust particles were determined from 2012 January through 2015 April. SAAMER-OS is located at the southernmost tip of Argentina and is currently the only operational radar with orbit determination capability providing continuous observations of the southern hemisphere. Distributions of the observed meteoroid speed, radiant, and heliocentric orbital parameters are presented, as well as those corrected by the observational biases associated with the SAAMER-OS operating parameters. The results are compared with those reported by three previous surveys performed with the Harvard Radio Meteor Project, the Advanced Meteor Orbit Radar, and the Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar, and they are in agreement with these previous studies. Weighted distributions for meteoroids above the thresholds for meteor trail electron line density, meteoroid mass, and meteoroid kinetic energy are also considered. Finally, the minimum line density and kinetic energy weighting factors are found to be very suitable for meteroid applications. The outcomes of this work show that, given SAAMER’s location, the system is ideal for providing crucial data to continuously study the South Toroidal and South Apex sporadic meteoroid apparent sources.

We investigate the possibility that sufficiently large electric fields and/or ionization during geomagnetic disturbed conditions may invalidate the assumptions applied in the retrieval of neutral horizontal winds from meteor and/or lidar measurements. As per our knowledge, the possible errors in the wind estimation have never been reported. In the present case study, we have been using co-located meteor radar and sodium resonance lidar zonal wind measurements over Andenes (69.27°N, 16.04°E) during intense substorms in the declining phase of the January 2005 solar proton event (21-22 January 2005). In total, 14 h of measurements are available for the comparison, which covers both quiet and disturbed conditions. For comparison, the lidar zonal wind measurements are averaged over the same time and altitude as the meteor radar wind measurements. High cross correlations (∼0.8) are found in all height regions. The discrepancies can be explained in light of differences in the observational volumes of the two instruments. Further, we extended the comparison to address the electric field and/or ionization impact on the neutral wind estimation. For the periods of low ionization, the neutral winds estimated with both instruments are quite consistent with each other. During periods of elevated ionization, comparatively large differences are noticed at the highermost altitude, which might be due to the electric field and/or ionization impact on the wind estimation. At present, one event is not sufficient to make any firm conclusion. Further study with more co-located measurements are needed to test the statistical significance of the result.

Deposits of catastrophic subaerial rockslides (=rapid mass-wasting events involving more than a million cubic meters of rock) composed of lithologies rich in carbonate minerals may undergo precipitation of cements that, in many cases, can be used to U/Th proxy-date the rockslide event and/or subsequent changes of the rockslide mass. In the Alps, lithification of rockslide masses into breccias is observed in rockslides composed of limestones, dolostones, calcitic-dolomitic marbles, and calcphyllites. Cementation may be localized to meteoric 'runoff-shadows' below larger boulders, or may comprise a continous surface veneer of breccia or, more rarely, may affect the entire rockslide mass. In addition, precipitation of flowstone cements and stalactites may take place in megapores along the underside of boulders. Cements comprise skalenohedral calcite, prismatic calcite, blocky calcite, calcimicrite, micropeloidal calcitic cement and, rarely, isopachous to botryoidal aragonite. Cement formation probably is driven by meteoric dissolution-reprecipitation of fine-grained, abrasive rock powder generated during the rockslide event. U/Th ages of cements indicate that most, but not all, precipitation starts closely after a rockslide event. In rockslides composed of calcphyllites with an accessory content of pyrite, aside of 'normal' meteoric dissolution-reprecipitation of abrasive carbonate gauge, oxidation of pyrite drives widespread carbonate dissolution followed by reprecipitation, as a cement, of part of the dissolved calcium carbonate. Drill coring indicates that rockslide deposits composed of pyritiferous calcphyllites can be lithified from top to bottom. Limestone-precipitating springs emerging from rockslide deposits, and well-cemented 'secondary' deposits (e. g. talus slopes or fluvial conglomerates onlapping rockslide deposits) percolated by groundwaters emerging from rockslide masses, indicate that rockslide deposits remain diagenetically active for thousands of

During May/June 2007, the Cruise EMEPC/Açores/G3/2007 was sailed aboard the SV Kommandor Jack in the scope of Portuguese Program for the Extension of the Continental Shelf. The Cruise, mainly focused on geological sampling, comprised a 1st leg lasting five days, at the Terceira rift zone and S. Jorge Island flank and a 2nd leg which lasted twenty-four days at the Atlantis, Plato, Hyeres and Great Meteor Seamounts located south of the Azores region, in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge off...

Using cosmogenic 36Cl buildup and rock varnish radiocarbon, we have measured the exposure age of rock surfaces at Meteor Crater, Arizona. Our 36Cl measurements on four dolomite boulders ejected from the crater by the impact yield a mean age of 49.7 ?? 0.85 ka, which is in excellent agreement with an average age of 49 ?? 3 ka obtained from thermoluminescence studies on shock-metamorphosed dolomite and quartz. These ages are supported by undetectably low 14C in the oldest rock varnish sample. ?? 1991.

Full Text Available Anomalous propagational characteristics, daytime signal levels greater than night-time, were observed. The amplitude records of a 40-kHz signal propagated over a distance of 5100 km from Sanwa, Japan to Calcutta along a low-latitude path show higher signal strength at midday compared to the midnight level on days preceded by principal geomagnetic storms, earthquakes and major meteor showers. This is explained by the increased ionization in the D-region following geophysical events. The storm after-effects only have a duration of a single day in this low-latitude path.

A combined micro-PIXE and micro-SRXRF method has been tested successfully for the characterization of impact materials collected at the well-known Barringer Meteor Crater. The micro-PIXE technique proved to be sensitive in the Z≤28 atomic number region while the micro-SRXRF above Fe especially for the siderophile elements. Quantitative analysis has become available for about 40 elements by these complementary methods providing new perspectives for the interpretation of the formation mechanism of impact metamorphosed objects

The geomorphology and geochemistry data gathered by the MER Opportunity at Meridiani Planum is a rich data set relevant to soil research on Mars. Many of the data, particularly with respect to outcrops at Victoria Crater, have been only partially analyzed. Here, the previously published geochemical profile of Endurance Crater is compared to that of Victoria Crater, to understand aspects of the post-depositional aqueous and chemical alteration of the Meridiani land surface. The landsurface bears cracking patterns similar to those produced by multiple episodes of wetting and drying in expansive materials on Earth. The geochemical profiles at both craters are nearly identical, suggesting (using mass balance methods) that a very chemically homogenous sedimentary deposit has been engulfed by the apparent surficial addition of S, Cl, and Br (and associated cations) since exposure to the atmosphere. The chemistry and mineralogy at both locations is one where the most insoluble of the added components resides near the land surface (Ca sulfates), and the more soluble components are concentrated at greater depths in a vertical pattern consistent with their solubility in water. The profiles, when compared to those on Earth (and to physical constraints), are most similar those generated by the downward movement of meteoric water. When this aqueous alteration and soil formation occurred is not well constrained, but the processes occurred between late Noachian (?) to late Amazonian times. The exposure of the Victoria crater walls, which occurred likely less than 107 y ago (late Amazonian), shows the accumulation of dust as well as evidence for aqueous concentration of NaBr and/or CaBr, possibly by deliquescence. By direct comparison to Earth, the regional soil at Meridiani Planum is a Typic Petrogypsid (a sulfate cemented arid soil), bearing similarities to very ancient soils formed in the Atacama Desert of Chile. The amount of water required to produce the soils ranges from a

Tephra beds that are well drained and have been buried by thin paleosols become hydrated within 2-3000 yr on reaction with meteoric waters. Hence, the absorbed water within silicic volcanic glass shards provides a potential record of δD values of ancient meteoric water. Such isotopic records have previously received little investigation. We demonstrate that 1.5-2 m thick tephra beds in central North Island, New Zealand, display uniform δD values vertically through their profiles and laterally up to 250 m in outcrop. Reproducibility is not influenced by grain size or age of the tephra. We obtained an average δD value of -48 ± 3 permille for water within the 1.8 ka Taupo Tephra. This is similar to the composition of present-day surface waters. δD values of -73 ± 2 and -60 ± 2 permille for the 25 ka Kawakawa and 30 ka Mangaone Tephra beds are significantly lower than present waters, indicating that they have been hydrated under different surficial conditions. This is consistent with other proxy paleoclimatic indicators that suggest a cooler, drier, and windier climate at the time of their eruption. Tephra beds are a potential source of paleoclimatic data in terrestrial environments that otherwise may lack proxy records. (author). 17 refs., 5 figs., 3 tabs

ABSTRACT Lhasa Limited is a not-for-profit organization that exists to promote the sharing of data and knowledge in chemistry and the life sciences. It has developed the software tools Derek for Windows, Meteor, and Vitic to facilitate such sharing. Derek for Windows and Meteor are knowledge-based expert systems that predict the toxicity and metabolism of a chemical, respectively. Vitic is a chemically intelligent toxicity database. An overview of each software system is provided along with examples of the sharing of data and knowledge in the context of their development. These examples include illustrations of (1) the use of data entry and editing tools for the sharing of data and knowledge within organizations; (2) the use of proprietary data to develop nonconfidential knowledge that can be shared between organizations; (3) the use of shared expert knowledge to refine predictions; (4) the sharing of proprietary data between organizations through the formation of data-sharing groups; and (5) the use of proprietary data to validate predictions. Sharing of chemical toxicity and metabolism data and knowledge in this way offers a number of benefits including the possibilities of faster scientific progress and reductions in the use of animals in testing. Maximizing the accessibility of data also becomes increasingly crucial as in silico systems move toward the prediction of more complex phenomena for which limited data are available.

The aim of this report is to estimate the exposure to various metals and metal compounds and discuss the available information of the possible toxic effects of these metals and compounds. In the first section, some metals are defined as those with either a large or a fast increasing exposure to living organisms. The available information on toxicity is discussed in the second section. In the third section interesting metals are defined as compounds having a large exposure and an apparent insufficient knowledge of their possible toxic effects. Comments on each of these metals are also to be found in the third section. (G.B.)

The nature of fluid circulation systems in normal fault systems is fundamental to understanding the nature of fluid movement within the upper crust, and has important implications for the on-going controversy about the strength of faults. Authigenic phases in clay gouges and fault breccias record the isotopic signature of the fluids they formed in equilibrium with, and can be used to understand the ‘plumbing system’ of brittle fault environments. We obtained paired oxygen and hydrogen isotopic measurements on authigenic illite and/or smectite in clay gouge from normal faults in two geologic environments, 1.) low-angle normal faults (Ruby Mountains detachment, NV; Badwater Turtleback, CA; Panamint range-front detachment; CA; Amargosa detachment; CA; Waterman Hills detachment, CA), and 2.) An intracratonic high-angle normal fault (Moab Fault, UT). All authigenic phases in these clay gouges are moderately light isotopically with respect to oxygen (illite δ18O -2.0 - + 11.5 ‰ SMOW, smectite δ18O +3.6 and 17.9 ‰) and very light isotopically with respect to hydrogen (illite δD -148 to -98 ‰ SMOW, smectite δD -147 to -92 ‰). Fluid compositions calculated from the authigenic clays at temperatures of 50 - 130 ○C (as indicated by clay mineralogy) indicate that both illite and smectite in normal fault clay gouge formed in the presence of near-pristine to moderately-evolved meteoric fluids and that igneous or metamorphic fluids are not involved in clay gouge formation in these normal fault settings. We also obtained paired oxygen and hydrogen isotopic measurements on chlorites derived from footwall chlorite breccias in 4 low-angle normal fault detachment systems (Badwater and Mormon Point Turtlebacks, CA, the Chemehuevi detachment, CA, and the Buckskin-Rawhide detachment, AZ). All chlorites are isotopically light to moderately light with respect to oxygen (δ18O +0.29 to +8.1 ‰ SMOW) and very light with respect to hydrogen (δD -97 to -113 ‰) and indicate

This report describes 37 new measurements of heat flow in the Madeira Abyssal Plain. These have comprised 22 values in the Great Meteor East Study Area and 15 measurements in the newly defined ''10 km Box'' to the southeast of this region. The aim of the project has been to examine in more detail than hitherto the thermal and fluid processes operating in the oceanic crust. For this purpose, a new thermistor string, with 1/2 m sensor spacing was used. Also, the heat flux data have been compared to the output from a finite element model for heat conduction. No non-linear sediment temperature profiles were discovered indicating that vertical advection of water through the sediment is absent or slow. The results of numerical modelling imply that the variability of measured heat flow cannot be explained entirely on the basis of basement topography. It is necessary to invoke either vertical basement intrusions of differing conductivity or basement hydrothermal circulation. (author)

Full Text Available We show in this report the momentum flux content input in the mesosphere due to relatively fast and small scale gravity waves (GWs observed through OH airglow images. The acquisition of OH NIR images was carried out in Brazil at Brasilia (14.8° S, 47.6° W and Cariri (7.4° S, 36.5° W from September 2005 to November 2005 during the SpreadFEx Campaign. Horizontal wind information from meteor radar was available in Cariri only. Our findings showed strong wave activity in both sites, mainly in Cariri. High wave directionality was also observed in both sites during SpreadFEx, which have been observed by other investigators using different analysis' techniques and different types of data during the campaign. We discuss also the possibility of plasma bubble seeding by gravity waves presenting spatial and temporal scales estimated with our novel analysis technique during the SpreadFEx campaign.

Dynamical characteristics of the terrestrial mesopause region can be observed from the atmospheric fields, such as wind and temperature. The purpose of this study was to contribute to a better understanding of mesopause dynamics of the equatorial and low latitude regions in the southern hemisphere, through the characterization of the wind flow between 80 and 100 km altitude. In this study we used wind observation data from mesosphere and lower thermosphere region (MLT), obtained from meteor radar measurements at São João do Cariri (7.4° S, 35° W) from July 2004 to December 2008 and at Cachoeira Paulista (22.7° S, 45.0° W) from January 2002 to July 2006 and from September 2007 to November 2008. From the spectral and harmonic analysis it was possible to identify the presence of planetary-scale oscillations in the mean winds for two latitudes and to study their transient character, which allowed to elaborate a climatology of planetary oscillation signatures. The planetary waves with periods near 2-day, 6-7 days, 16 days and the 3-4 days equatorial waves, also known as ultra fast Kelvin wave, were focused in this study. The 2-day waves in the meteoric winds showed a seasonal cycle, with intense amplitudes after the southern summer solstice until the end of season, the 6-7 day oscillations had more intense amplitudes during August-November and presence with lower amplitudes during April-May in both sites. The 16-day oscillations showed no clear seasonality over C. Paulista, however, the Cariri amplitudes were intense from spring until mid-summer and weak from autumn until early austral winter. The 3-4 day oscillations showed intermittent amplifications throughout the year and it was not possible to identify a seasonal cycle over the two sites.

Granular zircon in impact environments has long been recognized but remains poorly understood due to lack of experimental data to identify mechanisms involved in its genesis. Meteor Crater in Arizona (United States) contains abundant evidence of shock metamorphism, including shocked quartz, the high pressure polymorphs coesite and stishovite, diaplectic SiO2 glass, and lechatelierite (fused SiO2). Here we report the presence of granular zircon, a new shocked mineral discovery at Meteor Crater, that preserve critical orientation evidence of specific transformations that occurred during its formation at extreme impact conditions. The zircon grains occur as aggregates of sub-µm neoblasts in highly shocked Coconino Formation Sandstone (CFS) comprised of lechatelierite. Electron backscatter diffraction shows that each grain consists of multiple domains, some with boundaries disoriented by 65°, a known {112} shock-twin orientation. Other domains have crystallographic c-axes in alignment with {110} of neighboring domains, consistent with the former presence of the high pressure ZrSiO4 polymorph reidite. Additionally, nearly all zircon preserve ZrO2 + SiO2, providing evidence of partial dissociation. The genesis of CFS granular zircon started with detrital zircon that experienced shock-twinning and reidite formation from 20 to 30 GPa, ultimately yielding a phase that retained crystallographic memory; this phase subsequently recrystallized to systematically oriented zircon neoblasts, and in some areas partially dissociated to ZrO2. The lechatelierite matrix, experimentally constrained to form at >2000 °C, provided an ultra high-temperature environment for zircon dissociation (~1670 °C) and neoblast formation. The capacity of granular zircon to preserve a cumulative P-T record has not been recognized previously, and provides a new method for retrieving histories of impact-related mineral transformations in the crust at conditions far beyond which most rocks melt.

The aim of the study was to compare the differences between patient global disease activity (PtGDA) and physician global disease activity (PhGDA) score within and across 13 countries in the METEOR (Measurement of Efficacy of Treatment in the "Era of Outcome" in Rheumatology) database. Data from METEOR were used to compare PtGDA and PhGDA, scored independently on a 100-mm visual analog scale from 0 (best possible) until 100 (worst possible), in 23,117 visits in 5709 anonymized patients during the period between 2008 and 2012. Linear mixed models were used to model mean differences between PtGDA and PhGDA in 13 countries (Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States), adjusted for differences in Disease Activity Score in 28 joints (DAS28). Generalized estimating equations were used to model differences (>20 mm) between PtGDA and PhGDA score as the outcome and countries as determinants, adjusted for DAS28. Mean difference between PtGDA and PhGDA scores varied by country, from -2 mm (physician scores higher) in Mexico to +14 mm (patient scores higher) in Brazil. "Country" was a significant determinant of the difference between PtGDA and PhGDA scores, independent of differences in DAS28. With the Netherlands as reference, PtGDA and PhGDA scores for individual patients differ significantly in almost all (n = 10) countries, with the exception of France and Spain. Differences between patients' and physicians' assessment of GDA vary across the countries. Influence of country must be taken into account when interpreting discordances between the patient's and the physician's assessment of GDA in rheumatoid arthritis.

We present the results from a new dust probe MUDD on the PHOCUS payload which was launched in July 2011. In the interior of MUDD all the incoming NLC/PMSE icy dust particles will collide, at an impact angle ~70° to the surface normal, with a grid constructed such that no dust particles can directly hit the bottom plate of the probe. Only collision fragments will continue down towards the bottom plate. We determine an energy distribution of the charged fragments by applying a variable electric field between the impact grid and the bottom plate of MUDD. We find that ~30% of the charged fragments have kinetic energies less than 10 eV, ~20% have energies between 10 and 20 eV while ~50% have energies above 20 eV. The transformation of limits in kinetic energy for ice or meteoric smoke particles (MSP) to radius is dependent on many assumptions, the most crucial being fragment velocity. We find, however, that the sizes of the charged fragments most probably are in the range of 1 to 2 nm if meteoric smoke particles (MSP), and slightly higher if ice particles. The observed high charging fraction and the dominance of fragment sizes below a few nm makes it very unlikely that the fragments can consist mainly of ice but that they must be predominantly MSP as predicted by Havnes and Næsheim (2007) and recently observed by Hervig et al. (2012). The MUDD results indicate that MSP are embedded in NLC/PMSE ice particles with a minimum volume filling factor of ~.05% in the unlikely case that all embedded MSP are released and charged. A few % volume filling factor (Hervig et al., 2012) can easily be reached if ~10% of the MSP are released and that their charging probability is ~0.1.

The metal lagging described is characterized by the fact that it is formed of closed sacks composed of an elastic metal mass, compressed in an outer envelope made of a fine mesh metal fabric. The metal mass is composed of stainless steel wool stuffed into the envelope. This lagging is particularly intended for the thermal protection of the end slab of LMFBR type reactors [fr

A system for providing metal features on silicone comprising providing a silicone layer on a matrix and providing a metal layer on the silicone layer. An electronic apparatus can be produced by the system. The electronic apparatus comprises a silicone body and metal features on the silicone body that provide an electronic device.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0100064 includes chemical, physical, time series and underway - surface data collected from METEOR, POSEIDON, TALIARTE and VICTOR HENSEN in the North...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115601 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from METEOR in the North Atlantic Ocean from 2001-06-20 to 2001-07-15...

A transparent flexible nanomesh having at least one conductive element and sheet resistance less than 300.OMEGA./.quadrature. when stretched to a strain of 200% in at least one direction. The nanomesh is formed by depositing a sacrificial film, depositing, etching, and oxidizing a first metal layer on the film, etching the sacrificial film, depositing a second metal layer, and removing the first metal layer to form a nanomesh on the substrate.

VLSI Electronics Microstructure Science, Volume 15: VLSI Metallization discusses the various issues and problems related to VLSI metallization. It details the available solutions and presents emerging trends.This volume is comprised of 10 chapters. The two introductory chapters, Chapter 1 and 2 serve as general references for the electrical and metallurgical properties of thin conducting films. Subsequent chapters review the various aspects of VLSI metallization. The order of presentation has been chosen to follow the common processing sequence. In Chapter 3, some relevant metal deposition tec

Increased carotid intima media thickness (IMT) is associated with established coronary heart disease (CHD) and is a marker of atherosclerosis. Statins are an effective treatment for dyslipidaemia, and have been shown to retard progression or promote carotid IMT regression in patients at high risk of CHD. Rosuvastatin is a highly efficacious statin, and the Measuring Effects on intima media Thickness: an Evaluation Of Rosuvastatin (METEOR) study is designed to assess the impact of rosuvastatin on carotid IMT progression in low risk subjects with signs of subclinical atherosclerosis. In this randomised, parallel-group study, asymptomatic subjects at low risk of cardiovascular disease, but with evidence of atherosclerosis (defined as carotid IMT >or=1.2 mm and METEOR study will evaluate whether long-term rosuvastatin treatment promotes regression, or slows progression, of subclinical atherosclerosis in asymptomatic subjects at low risk of cardiovascular disease.

In this study we have used wind observation data from the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) region, obtained from meteor radar measurements in São João do Cariri (7.4° S, 36.5° W) from July 2004 to December 2008 and in Cachoeira Paulista (22.7° S, 45.0° W) from January 2002 to July 2006 and from September 2007 to November 2008. From the spectral analysis it was possible to identify the presence of planetary-scale oscillations in the hourly winds for the two latitudes and to study their transient character, which allowed elaboration of a climatology of planetary oscillation signatures. Planetary waves with periods near 2-days, 6-7 days, and 16 days were focussed on in this study. The quasi-2-day waves in the meteoric winds showed a seasonal cycle, with intense amplitudes occurring after the austral summer solstice and extending until the end of the season. The vertical wavelengths of the 2-day wave over Cachoeira Paulista were larger than those at São João do Cariri. A possible modulation of the quasi-2-day wave amplitudes by the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO) has been observed only at São João do Cariri. The 6-7 day oscillations presented more intense amplitudes during August-November but were present with lower amplitudes during March-April at both sites. The 6-7 day vertical wavelengths over São João do Cariri were larger than at Cachoeira Paulista. The 6-7 day amplitudes exhibited intra-seasonal and annual behavior, however, there was no clear evidence of QBO modulation. The 16-day oscillations showed a seasonal cycle at São João do Cariri, with amplifications from austral spring to mid-summer and weaker amplitudes from autumn until early winter, however, there was no clear seasonality over Cachoeira Paulista. The 16-day vertical wavelengths have assumed values of λz ~ 45-85 km over both sites. 16-day wave amplitudes at the two sites showed different long-term behaviors.

The meteoricmetal layers (Na, Fe, and K) which form as a result of the ablation of incoming meteors act as unique tracers for chemical and dynamical processes that occur within the upper mesosphere lower thermosphere region. In this work, we examine whether these metal layers are sensitive Fe indicators of decadal long-term changes within the upper atmosphere. Output from a whole-atmosphere climate model is used to assess the response of the Na, K, and Fe layers across a 50 year period (1955-2005). At short timescales, the K layer has previously been shown to exhibit a very different seasonal behavior compared to the other metals. Here we show that this unusual behavior is also exhibited at longer time scales (both the 11 year solar cycle and 50 year periods), where K displays a much more pronounced response to atmospheric temperature changes than either Na or Fe. The contrasting solar cycle behavior of the K and Na layers predicted by the model is confirmed using satellite and lidar observations for the period 2004-2013.

We document the interplay between meteoric fluid flow and deformation processes in quartzite-dominated lithologies within a ductile shear zone in the footwall of a Cordilleran extensional fault (Kettle detachment system, Washington, USA). Across 150 m of shear zone section, hydrogen isotope ratios (δD) from synkinematic muscovite fish are constant (δD ˜ -130‰) and consistent with a meteoric fluid source. Quartz-muscovite oxygen isotope thermometry indicates equilibrium fractionation temperatures of ˜365 ± 30 °C in the lower part of the section, where grain-scale quartz deformation was dominated by grain boundary migration recrystallization. In the upper part of the section, muscovite shows increasing intragrain compositional zoning, and quartz microstructures reflect bulging recrystallization, solution-precipitation, and microcracking that developed during progressive cooling and exhumation. The preserved microstructural characteristics and hydrogen isotope fingerprints of meteoric fluids developed over a short time interval as indicated by consistent mica 40Ar/39Ar ages ranging between 51 and 50 Ma over the entire section. Pervasive fluid flow became increasingly channelized during detachment activity, leading to microstructural heterogeneity and large shifts in quartz δ18O values on a meter scale. Ductile deformation ended when brittle motion on the detachment fault rapidly exhumed the mylonitic footwall.

Quantitative data collected with different bottom trawls at the Great Meteor Scamount (subtropical NE Atlantic, 30degreesN; 28.5degreesW) in 1967, 1970 and 1998 are compared. Bootstrap estimates of total catch per unit effort increased from 6.96 and 10.8 ind. m(-1) h(-1) in 1967 and 1970, respect......Quantitative data collected with different bottom trawls at the Great Meteor Scamount (subtropical NE Atlantic, 30degreesN; 28.5degreesW) in 1967, 1970 and 1998 are compared. Bootstrap estimates of total catch per unit effort increased from 6.96 and 10.8 ind. m(-1) h(-1) in 1967 and 1970...... information, a grand total of 46 species was found associated with the Great Meteor Seamount. Diversity was higher in 1967 and 1970 (Shannon's diversity: H'=2.5 and 1.6) than in 1998 (H'=0.9). Species-environment relationships are discussed in terms of a sound-scattering layer-interception hypothesis, i...

Full Text Available Fading times of radar echoes from underdense meteor trails in the upper mesosphere/lower thermosphere are commonly used to determine ambipolar diffusivities and hence ambient temperature. Diffusivities are generally expected to increase exponentially with height through the region from which the meteor trail echoes are obtained, viz., typically 70-110km altitude for a ~30-MHz radar. In practice, however, this is more the exception: unexpectedly large diffusivities are obtained in the lower part of the regime, and unexpectedly low values are obtained in the upper part; only in the few kilometres on either side of the maximum in echo occurrence (viz., 90km for a 30-MHz radar does the diffusivity profile behave as expected. Hall (2002 hypothesised that neutral turbulence might be enhancing expansion of the meteor trail in the lower part of the regime. In this communication, due to results only available since the publication of Hall's suggestion, we are able to refute the hypothesis.

of spawning, resistance to diseases and social acceptability (Pillay, 1993). This study aimed at determining the carbohydrate reserves and heavy metal accumulation of the Nile tilapia, Oreochromis miloticus after treatment with heavy metals such as lead, copper and zinc. 2. Materials and Methods. Test organism: Nile tilapia ...

Many methods are currently used for the production of thin metal films. However, all of these have drawbacks associated with them, for example the need for UHV conditions, high temperatures, exotic metal precursors, or the inability to coat complex shaped objects. Reduction of supported metal salts by non-isothermal plasma treatment does not suffer from these drawbacks. In order to produce and analyse metal films before they become contaminated, a plasma chamber which could be attached directly to a UHV chamber with XPS capability was designed and built. This allowed plasma treatment of supported metal salts and surface analysis by XPS to be performed without exposure of the metal film to the atmosphere. Non-equilibrium plasma treatment of Nylon 66 supported gold(lll) chloride using hydrogen as the feed gas resulted in a 95% pure gold film, the remaining 5% of the film being carbon. If argon or helium were used as the feed gases during plasma treatment the resultant gold films were 100% pure. Some degree of surface contamination of the films due to plasma treatment was observed but was easily removed by argon ion cleaning. Hydrogen plasma reduction of glass supported silver(l) nitrate and palladium(ll) acetate films reveals that this metallization technique is applicable to a wide variety of metal salts and supports, and has also shown the ability of plasma reduction to retain the complex 'fern-like' structures seen for spin coated silver(l) nitrate layers. Some metal salts are susceptible to decomposition by X-rays. The reduction of Nylon 66 supported gold(lll) chloride films by soft X-rays to produce nanoscopic gold particles has been studied. The spontaneous reduction of these X-ray irradiated support gold(lll) chloride films on exposure to the atmosphere to produce gold rich metallic films has also been reported. (author)

Both instrumental and radiochemical neutron activation analysis methods were developed for trace-element determination, such as iridium and gold, for application in cosmochemistry. The magnitude of the determined concentrations is in the range of parts per billion. In the instrumental method 1.5 grams of sample were submitted to irradiation by 10 13 thermal neutrons.cm -2 .s -1 during 32 hours. The gamma spectrometry is carried out with 10 to 12 hours counting time after 40 days of decay. In the radiochemical analysis a method of radiochemical separation of noble metals based on tellurium coprecipitation is implanted for iridium and gold determinations. As an application of the instrumental neutron activation analysis, preliminary iridium concentrations are measured for the first time in sedimentary rocks collected in the Brazilian territory. These techniques for determinations of iridium will be useful to check the asteroid impact hypothesis, which is supposed to be the cause of the great Cretaceous/Tertiary mass extinction, using samples collected in the South Hemisphere. (Author) [pt

Tupungatito is a poorly known volcano located about 100 km eastward of Santiago (Chile) in the northernmost sector of the South Volcanic Zone. This 5,682 m high volcano shows intense fumarolic activity. It hosts three crater lakes within the northwestern portion of the summit area. Chemical compositions of fumarolic gases and isotopic signatures of noble gases (3He/4He and 40Ar/36Ar are up to 6.09 Ra and 461, respectively), and steam (δ18O and δD) suggest that they are produced by mixing of fluids from a magmatic source rich in acidic gas compounds (SO2, HCl, and HF), and meteoric water. The magmatic-hydrothermal fluids are affected by steam condensation that controls the outlet fumarolic temperatures (contamination from the subducting slab, (2) the sedimentary basement, and (3) limited contribution from crustal sediments. Gas geothermometry based on the kinetically rapid H2-CO equilibria indicates equilibrium temperatures 200 °C and redox conditions are consistent with those inferred by the presence of the SO2-H2S redox pair, typical of fluids that have attained equilibrium in magmatic environment. A comprehensive conceptual geochemical model describing the circulation pattern of the Tupungatito hydrothermal-magmatic fluids is proposed. It includes fluid source regions and re-equilibration processes affecting the different gas species due to changing chemical-physical conditions as the magmatic-hydrothermal fluids rise up toward the surface.

Characteristics of the equatorial 3.5-day ultra-fast Kelvin (UKF) wave are investigated with four year meteor radar wind observations over Cachoeira Paulista (22.7S, 45W). UFK signature manifests as discrete bursts spanning over various times of the year with generally less amplitude during fall equinox and early winter span. Daily as well as seasonal mean amplitude of the UFK wave is found to be sufficiently smaller than that observed previously from equatorial stations. Estimated vertical wavelength of the UFK wave comes out to be larger than 80 km. Comparison of present results with another Brazilian equatorial station exhibits latitudinal invariance of the wave as well as transient local dynamical influence to its variability. High zonal acceleration caused by momentum flux convergence due to the UFK wave just after equinoxes is supposed to be responsible for driving westerly phase of the mean zonal wind immediately after equinoxes and hence the mesospheric semiannual oscillation. There is a clear signature of modulation of the UFK wave amplitude by various harmonics of the annual oscillation.

Characteristics of the 3.5-day ultra-fast Kelvin (UKF) wave are investigated with 4 years of meteor radar wind observations over Cachoeira Paulista (22.7°S, 45°W). The UFK signature manifests itself as discrete bursts spanning over various times of the year with generally less amplitude during fall equinox and early winter. Daily as well as seasonal mean amplitude of the UFK component is found to be considerably smaller than that observed previously from equatorial stations. Estimated vertical wavelengths of the UFK wave come out to be larger than 40 km. Comparison of the present results with another Brazilian equatorial station implies latitudinal invariance of the wave as well as transient local dynamical influence to its variability. High zonal acceleration caused by momentum flux convergence due to the UFK wave just after equinoxes is believed to be responsible for driving the westerly phase of the mean zonal wind immediately after the equinoxes and hence the mesospheric semiannual oscillation to some extent. There is a clear signature of modulation of the UFK wave amplitude by various harmonics of the annual oscillation.

Full Text Available Rapid radio soundings were made over Ahmedabad, a low latitude station during the period 16–20 November 1998 to study the sporadic-E layer associated with the Leonid shower activity using the KEL Aerospace digital ionosonde. Hourly ionograms for the period 11 November to 24 November were also examined during the years from 1994 to 1998. A distinct increase in sporadic-E layer occurrence is noticed on 17, 18 and 19 November from 1996 to 1998. The diurnal variations of f0Es and fbEs also show significantly enhanced values for the morning hours of 18 and 19 November 1998. The ionograms clearly show strong sporadic-E reflections at times of peak shower activity with multiple traces in the altitude range of 100–140 km in few ionograms. Sporadic-E layers with multiple structures in altitude are also seen in some of the ionograms (quarter hourly at Thumba, situated near the magnetic equator. Few of ionograms recorded at Kodaikanal, another equatorial station, also show sporadic- E reflections in spite of the transmitter power being significantly lower. These new results highlighting the effect of intense meteor showers in the equatorial and low latitude E-region are presented.Key words. Ionosphere (equatorial ionosphere – Radio science (ionospheric physics

Tritium-labeled gibberellin A9 (3H-GA9) was metabolized by etiolated shoots of dwarf pea (Pisum sativum cv. Meteor) to GA20, GA10, 2,3-dihydro-GA31, and a number of highly polar, acidic GA-like substances. Identifications were made by gasliquid radiochromatography and combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Kinetic studies showed that GA30 and 2,3-dihydro-GA31 were produced within 5 hours following 3H-GA9 application to pea shoots. The polar GA-like substances were produced between 5 and 10 hours after 3H-GA9 application. Levels of GA10 increased with time, and since no GA10 was produced during the purification procedures, GA10 was, in all probability, produced from 3H-GA9 within the plant tissue. The radioactive interconversion products produced by pea from 3H-GA9 have chromatographic properties similar to biologically active GA-like substances present in etiolated shoots of dwarf pea. Large scale applications of 3H-GA9 with very low specific activity to etiolated pea shoots showed that the radioactivity of the interconversion products was correlated exactly with biological activity as assayed by dwarf rice (Oryza sativa cv. Tan-ginbozu). PMID:16658838

Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is an index for changes in atherosclerosis burden and changes in CIMT may relate to clinical events. We present baseline data from the METEOR study, a randomized, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of rosuvastatin 40 mg on changes in CIMT. We set out to compare differences in CIMT between several subgroups of individuals. A total of 984 individuals aged 45-70 years (men) or 55-70 (women) were randomized. Participants were required to have: maximum CIMT > or = 1.2- or = 2 mm. Overall, mean age was 57 years and mean low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was 152 mg/dL (3.9 mmol/L). Body mass index (BMI), triglyceride and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels were all higher in US individuals, whereas smoking, hypertension and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were higher in Europeans. Mean CIMT levels were the same in both populations, and the percentage of individuals with > or = 2 CHD risk factors was similar. Increased baseline CIMT (> 2 mm) was related to increasing age, male gender, smoking, hypertension and lipid levels. In this global trial, differences in baseline characteristics between participants from the USA and Europe are apparent. However, a strong association between CIMT and several cardiovascular risk factors was observed across the two continents.

Lonar Lake is a unique saline and alkaline ecosystem formed by meteor impact in the Deccan basalts in India around 52,000 years ago. To investigate the role of methylotrophy in the cycling of carbon in this unusual environment, stable-isotope probing (SIP) was carried out using the one-carbon compounds methane, methanol and methylamine. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis fingerprinting analyses performed with heavy (13)C-labelled DNA retrieved from sediment microcosms confirmed the enrichment and labelling of active methylotrophic communities. Clone libraries were constructed using PCR primers targeting 16S rRNA genes and functional genes. Methylomicrobium, Methylophaga and Bacillus spp. were identified as the predominant active methylotrophs in methane, methanol and methylamine SIP microcosms, respectively. Absence of mauA gene amplification in the methylamine SIP heavy fraction also indicated that methylamine metabolism in Lonar Lake sediments may not be mediated by the methylamine dehydrogenase enzyme pathway. Many gene sequences retrieved in this study were not affiliated with extant methanotrophs or methylotrophs. These sequences may represent hitherto uncharacterized novel methylotrophs or heterotrophic organisms that may have been cross-feeding on methylotrophic metabolites or biomass. This study represents an essential first step towards understanding the relevance of methylotrophy in the soda lake sediments of an unusual impact crater structure.

Full Text Available Rapid radio soundings were made over Ahmedabad, a low latitude station during the period 16–20 November 1998 to study the sporadic-E layer associated with the Leonid shower activity using the KEL Aerospace digital ionosonde. Hourly ionograms for the period 11 November to 24 November were also examined during the years from 1994 to 1998. A distinct increase in sporadic-E layer occurrence is noticed on 17, 18 and 19 November from 1996 to 1998. The diurnal variations of f0Es and fbEs also show significantly enhanced values for the morning hours of 18 and 19 November 1998. The ionograms clearly show strong sporadic-E reflections at times of peak shower activity with multiple traces in the altitude range of 100–140 km in few ionograms. Sporadic-E layers with multiple structures in altitude are also seen in some of the ionograms (quarter hourly at Thumba, situated near the magnetic equator. Few of ionograms recorded at Kodaikanal, another equatorial station, also show sporadic- E reflections in spite of the transmitter power being significantly lower. These new results highlighting the effect of intense meteor showers in the equatorial and low latitude E-region are presented.

Light-gray regolith overlying the orange and black pyroclastic ash (Schmitt, 2017) at Shorty Crater protected the ash from incorporation into surrounding basaltic regolith for 3.5 billion years (Tera and Wasserburg, 1976; Saito and Alexander, 1979). Inspection of LROC images indicate this regolith probably came from a 350 m diameter, degraded impact crater (Fitzgibbon Crater), about 1 km NNE of Shorty. This regolith was derived largely from basalt and spread over the ash deposit about 24 Myr (Eugster, et al., 1979, corrected for post-Shorty exposure) after the last ash eruption. Maturity indexes for light gray regolith samples 74441 and 74461 are about 8 (Morris, 1978) and agglutinate concentrations are 8% and 7.7% (Heiken and McKay, 1974), respectively. These values are inconsistent with the exposure and cycling of the light-gray regolith during 3.5 billion years in the lunar surface impact environment (i.e., the time between ash deposition and the light mantle avalanche). If agglutinate content and Is/FeO indexes largely reflect the cumulative effect of micro-meteor impacts, as generally concluded, the light-gray regolith formed in an environment with significantly less micro-meteor flux than that which has prevailed more recently. 14-18% of fragile, ropy glass in the light-gray regolith, as compared with meteor flux during development. The high recent micro-meteor flux appears to have existed for at least for the last 75 million years (Schmitt, et al., 2017), the estimated time using LROC-based crater frequency analysis (van der Bogert, et al., 2012) since the light mantle avalanche of South Massif regolith covered the light-gray regolith. New regolith on the light mantle appears to be developing a higher concentration of agglutinates and a higher maturity index relative to regolith in deeper portions of the unit. Light mantle avalanche samples 73141 (subsurface) and 73121 (near surface), have agglutinates at 32% and 42% and Is/FeO indexes of 48 and 78

Full Text Available The Herja ore deposit is one of the most known of the Baia Mare Neogene metallogenetic district and is associated with a complex stock of Pannonian age. The hydrothermal alterations associated with the mineralizations are represented by: the propylitization, the argillization, the phyllic and potassic alteration. The monoascenedant character of the mineralizations is predominant. The magmatic intrusions have been sequential placed and have represented the heat, metals and hydrothermal solutions source. In the first stages of mineralization the hydrothermal solutions contain predominantly magmatic water and in the final stages the water is of connate and meteoric origin. According to the structural magmatic control, to the mineralogical composition and to the hydrothermal alterations, the Herja ore deposits are of a low sulphidation epithermal systems type.

This strategic planning exercise identified and characterized new and emerging advanced metallic technologies in the context of the drastic changes in global politics and decreasing fiscal resources. In consideration of a hierarchy of technology thrusts stated by various Department of Defense (DOD) spokesmen, and the need to find new and creative ways to acquire and organize programs within an evolving Wright Laboratory, five major candidate programs identified are: C-17 Flap, Transport Fuselage, Mach 5 Aircraft, 4.Fighter Structures, and 5. Missile Structures. These results were formed by extensive discussion with selected major contractors and other experts, and a survey of advanced metallic structure materials. Candidate structural applications with detailed metal structure descriptions bracket a wide variety of uses which warrant consideration for the suggested programs. An analysis on implementing smart skins and structures concepts is given from a metal structures perspective.

From the viewpoint of general crystal chemistry principles and on the base of modern data the structural chemistry of metal carbides is presented. The classification deviding metal carbides into 4 groups depending on chemical and physical properties is presented. The features of the crystal structure of carbides of alkali alkaline earth, transition, 4 f- and 5f-elements and their effect on physical and chemical properties are considered

Full Text Available On the basis of bispectral analysis applied to the hourly data set of neutral wind measured by meteor radar in the MLT region above Bulgaria it was demonstrated that nonlinear processes are frequently and regularly acting in the mesopause region. They contribute significantly to the short-term tidal variability and are apparently responsible for the observed complicated behavior of the tidal characteristics. A Morlet wavelet transform is proposed as a technique for studying nonstationary signals. By simulated data it was revealed that the Morlet wavelet transform is especially convenient for analyzing signals with: (1 a wide range of dominant frequencies which are localized in different time intervals; (2 amplitude and frequency modulated spectral components, and (3 singular, wave-like events, observed in the neutral wind of the MLT region and connected mainly with large-scale disturbances propagated from below. By applying a Morlet wavelet transform to the hourly values of the amplitudes of diurnal and semidiurnal tides the basic oscillations with periods of planetary waves (1.5-20 days, as well as their development in time, are obtained. A cross-wavelet analysis is used to clarify the relation between the tidal and mean neutral wind variability. The results of bispectral analysis indicate which planetary waves participated in the nonlinear coupling with the atmospheric tides, while the results of cross-wavelet analysis outline their time intervals if these interactions are local.

Asphalt volcanism in the deep ocean can generate substantial areas of hard substratum and hydrocarbon fluxes that support chemosynthetic communities. The process was first described in the southern Gulf of Mexico following the discovery in 2003 of Chapopote, a knoll at 3200m depth that includes large asphalt flows. F/S METEOR returned to the region in February and March, 2015 to quantify the extent and characteristics of Chapopote and other asphalt-hosting knolls using the SEAL AUV, QUEST ROV, shipborne acoustics, and autonomous instrument landers. Preliminary findings have greatly expanded the number of confirmed asphalt volcanoes, as well as sites where seepage was detected as gas flares in the water column. The morphology of asphalt flows, which was investigated using large-scale photo-mosaicking techniques, indicated that they form with a complex interplay of gravity flows, buoyant uplift, and chemical weathering. Geochemical analysis of asphalt samples is underway to investigate the ages of material and the time-constants of alterations after exposure at the seafloor. Rapid gas hydrate formation had generated massive seafloor deposits at several sites. Notably, gas hydrate mounds had been colonized by aggregations of 2m long tubeworms that extended over areas approaching 1000 sq m in some cases. The biological community comprised an abundant assemblage in which the caridean shrimp Alvinocaris muricola and the squat lobsters Munidopsis geyeri and M. exuta were numerically dominant. Chemosynthetic fauna were primarily the tubeworm Escarpia laminate, observed on asphalt surfaces and gas hydrate substrate and the mussel Bathymodiolus heckarae, observed around active gas vents. Prospects for oil and gas development in the region raise questions regarding appropriate measures for safeguarding lush chemosynthetic communities.

Purpose In the phase III METEOR trial ( ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01865747), 658 previously treated patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive cabozantinib or everolimus. The cabozantinib arm had improved progression-free survival, overall survival, and objective response rate compared with everolimus. Changes in quality of life (QoL), an exploratory end point, are reported here. Patients and Methods Patients completed the 19-item Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Kidney Symptom Index (FKSI-19) and the five-level EuroQol (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaires at baseline and throughout the study. The nine-item FKSI-Disease-Related Symptoms (FKSI-DRS), a subset of FKSI-19, was also investigated. Data were summarized descriptively and by repeated-measures analysis (for which a clinically relevant difference was an effect size ≥ 0.3). Time to deterioration (TTD) was defined as the earlier of date of death, radiographic progressive disease, or ≥ 4-point decrease from baseline in FKSI-DRS. Results The QoL questionnaire completion rates remained ≥ 75% through week 48 in each arm. There was no difference over time for FKSI-19 Total, FKSI-DRS, or EQ-5D data between the cabozantinib and everolimus arms. Among the individual FKSI-19 items, cabozantinib was associated with worse diarrhea and nausea; everolimus was associated with worse shortness of breath. These differences are consistent with the adverse event profile of each drug. Cabozantinib improved TTD overall, with a marked improvement in patients with bone metastases at baseline. Conclusion In patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, relative to everolimus, cabozantinib generally maintained QoL to a similar extent. Compared with everolimus, cabozantinib extended TTD overall and markedly improved TTD in patients with bone metastases.

Oxygen isotopic data from carbonate cements in concretions have been used to infer the isotopic composition of meteoric fluids present at the time of concretion growth in terrestrial sediments that were deposited within the early Cretaceous South Polar Circle at 75-80 0 S. Carbon and oxygen isotope compositions have been determined on over 135 samples of carbonate from 45 concretions taken from 24 localities (Aptian-Albian in age) in the terrestrial sedimentary basins associated with the Otway and Strzelecki groups, southeastern Australia. The carbonate cements include calcite having -26.4≤δ 13 C≤19.6 and 3.6≤δ 18 O≤29.6 or siderite having 17.6≤δ 18 O≤30.8. Calcite-cemented concretions are more abundant and are interpreted to represent early near-surface cementation events on the basis of textural evidence such as high (>30%) porosities at the time of cementation and mineralogical evidence such as the preferential preservation within concretions of labile detrital grains including plagioclase, pyroxene, and amphibole. The oxygen isotopic data indicate that meteoric fluids with very low δ 18 O, certainly less than -15per mille and probably on the order of -20per mille, were involved in the precipitation of the early calcites. The extremely low δ 18 O values of the fluids involved in the early diagenesis of both the Otway and Strzelecki groups suggest that the catchment area of the river system that carried sediments to these basins had a cold high-latitude climate (with mean annual temperatures less than 5 0 C and quite possibly below freezing). By analogy with the relationship between modern 18 O distribution of meteoric fluids and climate, these new data suggest that the early Cretaceous polar regions may not have been ice-free. (orig.)

To evaluate the effect of the number and positioning during follow-up of ultrasound examinations on the rate of change in carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) using METEOR (Measuring Effects on Intima-Media Thickness: an Evaluation of Rosuvastatin) as an example. METEOR was a randomized, placebo-controlled trial showing that rosuvastatin reduced progression of 2-year change in CIMT among low-risk patients with subclinical atherosclerosis. In the full METEOR protocol, ultrasound examinations were performed twice before randomization, once each at 6, 12, and 18 months after randomization, and then twice at the end of study at 24 months. For the present study, 17 study designs were retrospectively constructed with varying number and position of ultrasound examinations during the study. Differences in the rate of change in maximum CIMT between these study designs were compared. Variations in frequency of ultrasound visits gave results in the same direction and magnitude for the change in maximum CIMT for both groups (i.e. nonsignificant change for rosuvastatin and significant progression for placebo, and a significant difference between treatments). However, standard errors were larger when the number of exams reduced. This finding was consistent over different lengths of follow-up, sample sizes, and with CIMT measurements made on different locations. Protocols with different number and timing of ultrasound examinations minimally affect the direction and magnitude of treatment effects on the rate of change in CIMT. However, reductions in exam frequency increase standard errors of rates of change, suggesting larger sample sizes would be required to have the same level of statistical power.

Many studies have used carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) measurement to study atherosclerosis and the efficacy of interventions. The placebo-controlled Measuring Effects on intima-media Thickness: an Evaluation Of Rosuvastatin (METEOR) study showed significant reduction in the progression rate of maximum CIMT with 2 years of lipid treatment in asymptomatic individuals with subclinical atherosclerosis. The present post-hoc subgroup analysis of METEOR was carried out to determine whether the effect of rosuvastatin treatment varied according to baseline CIMT level. To assess the relationship between efficacy of treatment with rosuvastatin versus placebo and baseline CIMT, we analyzed the effects on the primary CIMT endpoint in participants stratified by baseline quartiles of CIMT (Q1-Q4) using all individuals with a baseline reading and at least one post-baseline CIMT reading. Statistical analysis was carried out using a multilevel repeated-measures linear mixed effects model. In total, 876 participants were included in the analysis. In all quartiles, progression of mean maximum CIMT was significantly slower in rosuvastatin-treated individuals as compared with placebo controls. Although the magnitude of the treatment effect appeared larger in those with the highest baseline CIMT, statistical testing indicated that the magnitude of the treatment effect did not vary significantly with levels of baseline CIMT. This subgroup analysis of the METEOR study showed that in middle-aged adults with sub-clinical atherosclerosis, rosuvastatin treatment resulted in significant reduction in mean maximum CIMT progression in four quartiles of baseline CIMT, with no evidence for difference in benefit across levels of baseline CIMT.

Impact cratering is an important geological process that affects all planetary bodies in our solar system. As rock breakdown plays an important role in the evolution of landforms and sediments, it is important to assess the role of inheritance in the subsequent breakdown of impacted rocks.The shock pressure of several gigapascals generated during the impact can exceed the effective strength of target lithology by three to four orders of magnitude and is responsible for melting, vaporisation, shock metamorphism, fracturing and fragmentation of rocks. Environmental conditions and heterogeneities in rock properties exert an important control in rock breakdown. Similar to other subaerial rocks, impacted rocks are affected by a range of rock breakdown processes. In order to better understand the role of inheritance of the impact on rock breakdown, a rock breakdown experiment was conducted in a simulated environmental cabinet under conditions similar to the arid conditions found at the Meteor Crater site. We sampled Moenkopi and Coconino Sandstone from the Meteor Crater impact site in Arizona. For comparison, samples were also collected at control sites close by that have similar rock formations but did not undergo impact. Several established techniques (X-ray CT, SEM, Equotip, SfM) were used to characterise the rock samples before the environmental cabinet experiments. Our laboratory analysis (XRD, SEM, optical microscopy, X-ray CT) on impacted rock samples from Meteor Crater, show that rock porosity and permeability changes due to compaction and fracturing during impact. There were no high-pressure polymorphs of quartz or glass detected in XRD analysis. We ran the experiments on a total of 28 petrophysically characterised 5x5x5 cm sample blocks of Coconino and Moenkopi Sandstone (24 impacted rocks and 4 non-impacted). The results will be presented at the AGU Fall meeting 2017.

information, a grand total of 46 species was found associated with the Great Meteor Seamount. Diversity was higher in 1967 and 1970 (Shannon's diversity: H'=2.5 and 1.6) than in 1998 (H'=0.9). Species-environment relationships are discussed in terms of a sound-scattering layer-interception hypothesis, i.......e. utilisation of prey from a diurnally moving sound-scattering layer for the bentho-pelagic community. This is probably augmented by concentration effects in a circular current around the seamount (Taylor-column). Long-term changes are discussed with respect to a decrease in biodiversity due to considerable...

substituent effects in the head-to-tail double insertion reactions observed ... an internal standard. The yield of diphenyl carbodii- mide was further verified by isolating it as diphenyl urea after hydrolysis. The organic fraction obtained in the catalytic metathesis .... insertion of PhNCO into metal alkoxide 1a to generate. Table 1.

It is shown in section 7.1. that the influence of topological disorder on the range of magnetic interactions in ferromagnetic transition metal-metalloid (TM-M) glasses, is much less than often assumed. This is demonstrated via a study of the temperature dependence of the average iron hyperfine field

In the central part of the Kruja Platform (Albania) located in the Apulian passive margin, geochemical analyses (calcimetry, Sr, REE and isotopic, δ13C and δ18O) coupled with sedimentological and sequence stratigraphic study were carried out on Upper Cretaceous (CsB4, CsB5, CsB6 Biozones) and Paleocene to Middle Eocene shallow-water carbonates that crop out in the Kruje-Dajt massif (L'Escalier section) and Makareshi massif (La Route section). The lower values in Sr contents, the homogeneous δ18O values in both sections and the covariance between δ13C and δ18O values (La Route section) are attributed to diagenesis influence by a meteoric water-buffer system, supported by petrographic observations. Moreover, a new exposure surface during the Late Cretaceous time (between CsB5 and CsB6 Biozones) may be proposed according to the low or negative excursions of Sr values, the negative excursions of isotopic values in both sections and a positive peak of normalized REE values (La Route section). These variations correlate with the geochemical signal reported by the decreasing strontium isotope values of rudist shells in the Island of Brač carbonate platform (Apulia domain) during the late Middle Campanian (77.3 Ma). Also, this continental exposure is consistent with the global sea-level fall reported from the Boreal Realm, North Atlantic, and the southern Tethyan margin. This geochemical evidence is a complementary tool for the sedimentological analysis and suggests a maximum regression (a sea-level fall) at the transition between the CsB5 and CsB6 Biozones. The high values of Sr content in Middle Eocene carbonates (L'Escalier section) reflect changes in depositional environment from restricted to open marine conditions. REE values increase through transgressive systems tract, characterized by small increase of detrital input. However, anomalies of certain values in both sections suggest disturbances linked either to the changes in clay input and to diagenetic

Mesospheric nanoparticles in the forms of water ice particles and meteoric smoke particles (MSPs) exist in the middle atmosphere where they often play a decisive role in cloud formation and in chemical processes. Direct in situ observations of mesospheric nanoparticles have been made possible by rocket probes developed during the last two decades. Although progress has been made in mapping properties such as electric charge, sizes, and interaction with the plasma and neutral gas, more observations are needed on the size distribution, chemical content, and structure of the MSP to determine their role in cloud formation and chemistry in the mesosphere and stratosphere. We here present the result of a detailed analysis of the performance of a new dust probe MUltiple Dust Detector (MUDD) [O. Havnes et al., J. Atmos Soll.-Terr. Phys. 118, 190 (2014); O. Havenes et al., ibid. (in press)], which should give information of the size distribution of MSP by fragmenting impacting ice particles and releasing a fraction of the MSP which most probably are embedded in them [O. Havnes and L. I. Naesheim, Ann. Geophys. 25, 623 (2007); M. E. Hervig et al., J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phys. 84-85, 1 (2012)]. We first determine the electric field structure and neutral gas condition in the interior of the probe and from this compute, the dynamics and current contribution of the charged fragments to the currents measured as the probe scans the fragment energy. For the single MUDD probe flown in July 2011 on the PHOCUS payload, we find that the fragment currents at the three retarding potentials for MUDD of 0, 10, and 20 V correspond to fragment sizes of ≳0.6 nm, >1.5 nm, and >1.8 nm if the fragments have a negative unit charge. We also discuss the optimum choice of retarding potentials in future flights of MUDD probes. By launching 2 to 3 mechanically identical MUDD probes but with different retarding potentials, we will obtain a much more detailed and reliable fragment (MSP) size

We report a new observation of the Jupiter family comet 209P/LINEAR during its 2014 return. The comet is recognized as a dust source of a new meteor shower, the May Camelopardalids. 209P/LINEAR was apparently inactive at a heliocentric distance r{sub h} = 1.6 AU and showed weak activity at r{sub h} ≤ 1.4 AU. We found an active region of <0.001% of the entire nuclear surface during the comet's dormant phase. An edge-on image suggests that particles up to 1 cm in size (with an uncertainty of factor 3-5) were ejected following a differential power-law size distribution with index q = –3.25 ± 0.10. We derived a mass-loss rate of 2-10 kg s{sup –1} during the active phase and a total mass of ≈5 × 10{sup 7} kg during the 2014 return. The ejection terminal velocity of millimeter- to centimeter-sized particles was 1-4 m s{sup –1}, which is comparable to the escape velocity from the nucleus (1.4 m s{sup –1}). These results imply that such large meteoric particles marginally escaped from the highly dormant comet nucleus via the gas drag force only within a few months of the perihelion passage.

Full Text Available The SuperDARN chain of oblique HF radars has provided an opportunity to generate a unique climatology of horizontal winds near the mesopause at a number of high latitude locations, via the Doppler shifted echoes from sources of ionisation in the D-region. Ablating meteor trails form the bulk of these targets, but other phenomena also contribute to the observations. Due to the poor vertical resolution of the radars, care must be taken to reduce possible biases from sporadic-E layers and Polar Mesospheric Summer echoes that can affect the effective altitude of the geophysical parameters being observed. Second, there is strong theoretical and observational evidence to suggest that the radars are picking up echoes from the backward looking direction that will tend to reduce the measured wind strengths. The effect is strongly frequency dependent, resulting in a 20% reduction at 12 MHz and a 50% reduction at 10 MHz. A comparison of the climatologies observed by the Super-DARN Finland radar between September 1999 and September 2000 and that obtained from the adjacent VHF meteor radar located at Kiruna is also presented. The agreement between the two instruments was very good. Extending the analysis to the SuperDARN Iceland East radar indicated that the principles outlined above could be applied successfully to the rest of the SuperDARN network.

A general survey related to the corrosion of valve metals or film-forming metals. The way these metals corrode with some general examples is described. Valve metals form relatively perfect oxide films with little breakdown or leakage when anodized

The structure of phosphides of the most of elements: alkali, alkaline earth, rare earth, transition metals, actinides, indium, beryllium, cadmium forming the variety of formulae and types of structures, is considered. The ways of P atom combination in phosphides vary from single atoms (ions P 3- in compounds of electropositive elements) through one-, two-dimensional complexes P n up to three-dimensional (charged) grids. In all phosphides, containing the systems of bound atoms of phosphorus, certain or all from these atoms form less than three bonds P-P. The formation of one bond P-P by every atom leads to group P 2 found as P 2 4- ion in diphosphides of transition metals with the structure of the pyrite or marcasite type (RuP 2 ). LaP, SmP, ThP, UP, ZrP form structural type NaCl

Cabozantinib is an oral inhibitor of tyrosine kinases including MET, VEGFR, and AXL. The randomised phase 3 METEOR trial compared the efficacy and safety of cabozantinib versus the mTOR inhibitor everolimus in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma who progressed after previous VEGFR tyrosine-kinase inhibitor treatment. Here, we report the final overall survival results from this study based on an unplanned second interim analysis. In this open-label, randomised phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned (1:1) patients aged 18 years and older with advanced or metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma, measurable disease, and previous treatment with one or more VEGFR tyrosine-kinase inhibitors to receive 60 mg cabozantinib once a day or 10 mg everolimus once a day. Randomisation was done with an interactive voice and web response system. Stratification factors were Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center risk group and the number of previous treatments with VEGFR tyrosine-kinase inhibitors. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival as assessed by an independent radiology review committee in the first 375 randomly assigned patients and has been previously reported. Secondary endpoints were overall survival and objective response in all randomly assigned patients assessed by intention-to-treat. Safety was assessed per protocol in all patients who received at least one dose of study drug. The study is closed for enrolment but treatment and follow-up of patients is ongoing for long-term safety evaluation. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01865747. Between Aug 8, 2013, and Nov 24, 2014, 658 patients were randomly assigned to receive cabozantinib (n=330) or everolimus (n=328). The median duration of follow-up for overall survival and safety was 18·7 months (IQR 16·1-21·1) in the cabozantinib group and 18·8 months (16·0-21·2) in the everolimus group. Median overall survival was 21·4 months (95% CI 18·7-not estimable) with

The topics discussed in this book focus on fundamental problems concerning the structural relaxation of amorphous metallic alloys, above all the possibility of studying it on the basis of viscous flow behavior and its relation to rheological anomalies, such as bend stress relaxation, thermal expansion, specific heat, density changes, and crystallization. Most relaxation studies deal with the relaxation changes of a single definite material property, and not with a wider spectrum of physical properties integrated into a common framework. This book shows that it is possible to describe these property changes on the basis of a more comprehensive theoretical understanding of their mechanism.

A set of processes for preparing metal powders, including metal alloy powders, by ambient temperature reduction of a reducible metal compound by a reactive metal or metal hydride through mechanochemical processing. The reduction process includes milling reactants to induce and complete the reduction reaction. The preferred reducing agents include magnesium and calcium hydride powders. A process of pre-milling magnesium as a reducing agent to increase the activity of the magnesium has been established as one part of the invention.

A porous carbon scaffold with a surface and pores, the porous carbon scaffold containing a primary metal and a secondary metal, where the primary metal is a metal that does not wet the surface of the pores of the carbon scaffold but wets the surface of the secondary metal, and the secondary metal is interspersed between the surface of the pores of the carbon scaffold and the primary metal.

A new hybrid technique of visual and video meteor observations was developed to provide high precision near real-time flux measurements for satellite operators from airborne platforms. A total of 33,000 Leonids. recorded on video during the 1999 Leonid storm, were watched by a team of visual observers using a video head display and an automatic counting tool. The counts reveal that the activity profile of the Leonid storm is a Lorentz profile. By assuming a radial profile for the dust trail that is also a Lorentzian, we make predictions for future encounters. If that assumption is correct, we passed 0.0003 AU deeper into the 1899 trailet than expected during the storm of 1999 and future encounters with the 1866 trailet will be less intense than. predicted elsewhere.

Using a mass-spectrometric installation from the ''Meteor'' satellite carried out are the measurements of O + and N + ion concentrations, large-scale drifts of O + ions, as well as electron fluxes with the energy of E>350 eV at the altitute approximately 90O km in the outer Earth ionosphere while the minimum of the 21 nd cycle of solar activity. The technique for measurement of ion and electron fluxes drifts are described. In particular, obtained are the data on season and day variations of ions, found is the asymmetry of hemispheres according to amplitudes of day and season variations of n[O + ] concentrations. For example, day amplitude of n[O + ] variation in the southern hemisphere in the vicinity of summer solstice constitutes a factor of 3-4, mainly at the expense of anomalously high ion concentrations during the night

We present a study of horizontal winds in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) during the boreal winters of 2009-2010 and 2012-2013 produced with a new high-altitude numerical weather prediction (NWP) system. This system is based on a modified version of the Navy Global Environmental Model (NAVGEM) with an extended vertical domain up to ∼116 km altitude coupled with a hybrid four-dimensional variational (4DVAR) data assimilation system that assimilates both standard operational meteorological observations in the troposphere and satellite-based observations of temperature, ozone and water vapor in the stratosphere and mesosphere. NAVGEM-based MLT analyzed winds are validated using independent meteor radar wind observations from nine different sites ranging from 69°N-67°S latitude. Time-averaged NAVGEM zonal and meridional wind profiles between 75 and 95 km altitude show good qualitative and quantitative agreement with corresponding meteor radar wind profiles. Wavelet analysis finds that the 3-hourly NAVGEM and 1-hourly radar winds both exhibit semi-diurnal, diurnal, and quasi-diurnal variations whose vertical profiles of amplitude and phase are also in good agreement. Wavelet analysis also reveals common time-frequency behavior in both NAVGEM and radar winds throughout the Northern extratropics around the times of major stratospheric sudden warmings (SSWs) in January 2010 and January 2013, with a reduction in semi-diurnal amplitudes beginning around the time of a mesospheric wind reversal at 60°N that precedes the SSW, followed by an amplification of semi-diurnal amplitudes that peaks 10-14 days following the onset of the mesospheric wind reversal. The initial results presented in this study demonstrate that the wind analyses produced by the high-altitude NAVGEM system accurately capture key features in the observed MLT winds during these two boreal winter periods.

The aim of this study was to evaluate three different metabolite prediction software packages (Meteor, MetaSite, and StarDrop) with respect to their ability to predict loci of metabolism and suggest relative proportions of metabolites. A chemically diverse test set of 22 compounds, for which in vivo human mass balance studies and metabolic schemes were available, was used as basis for the evaluation. Each software package was provided with structures of the parent compounds, and predicted metabolites were compared with experimentally determined human metabolites. The evaluation consisted of two parts. First, different settings within each software package were investigated and the software was evaluated using those settings determined to give the best prediction. Second, the three different packages were combined using the optimized settings to see whether a synergistic effect concerning the overall metabolism prediction could be established. The performance of the software was scored for both sensitivity and precision, taking into account the capabilities/limitations of the particular software. Varying results were obtained for the individual packages. Meteor showed a general tendency toward overprediction, and this led to a relatively low precision (∼35%) but high sensitivity (∼70%). MetaSite and StarDrop both exhibited a sensitivity and precision of ∼50%. By combining predictions obtained with the different packages, we found that increased precision can be obtained. We conclude that the state-of-the-art individual metabolite prediction software has many advantageous features but needs refinement to obtain acceptable prediction profiles. Synergistic use of different software packages could prove useful.

We present a study of horizontal winds in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) during the boreal winters of 2009-2010 and 2012-2013 produced with a new high-altitude numerical weather prediction (NWP) system. This system is based on a modified version of the Navy Global Environmental Model (NAVGEM) with an extended vertical domain up to approximately 116 km altitude coupled with a hybrid four-dimensional variational (4DVAR) data assimilation system that assimilates both standard operational meteorological observations in the troposphere and satellite-based observations of temperature, ozone and water vapor in the stratosphere and mesosphere. NAVGEM-based MLT analyzed winds are validated using independent meteor radar wind observations from nine different sites ranging from 69 deg N-67 deg S latitude. Time-averaged NAVGEM zonal and meridional wind profiles between 75 and 95 km altitude show good qualitative and quantitative agreement with corresponding meteor radar wind profiles. Wavelet analysis finds that the 3-hourly NAVGEM and 1-hourly radar winds both exhibit semi-diurnal, diurnal, and quasi-diurnal variations whose vertical profiles of amplitude and phase are also in good agreement. Wavelet analysis also reveals common time-frequency behavior in both NAVGEM and radar winds throughout the Northern extra tropics around the times of major stratospheric sudden warmings (SSWs) in January 2010 and January 2013, with a reduction in semi-diurnal amplitudes beginning around the time of a mesospheric wind reversal at 60 deg N that precedes the SSW, followed by an amplification of semi-diurnal amplitudes that peaks 10-14 days following the onset of the mesospheric wind reversal. The initial results presented in this study demonstrate that the wind analyses produced by the high altitude NAVGEM system accurately capture key features in the observed MLT winds during these two boreal winter periods.

Two, I propose that this framework allows for at least a theoretical distinction between the way in which extreme metal – e.g. black metal, doom metal, funeral doom metal, death metal – relates to its sound as music and the way in which much other music may be conceived of as being constituted...

Metal polishes are used to clean metals, including brass, copper, or silver. This article discusses the harmful effects from swallowing metal polish. This article is for information only. DO NOT use ...

A metal-phosphate binder is provided. The binder may include an aqueous phosphoric acid solution, a metal-cation donor including a metal other than aluminum, an aluminum-cation donor, and a non-carbohydrate electron donor.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0116646 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from METEOR in the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean from...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0113911 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from METEOR in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1996-06-13 to 1996-07-14...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0157375 includes Surface underway, chemical, meteorological and physical data collected from METEOR in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1996-06-06 to...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0116643 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from METEOR in the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean from...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0109917 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from METEOR in the North Atlantic Ocean from 2006-07-12 to 2006-08-06...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0157410 includes Surface underway, chemical, meteorological and physical data collected from METEOR in the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and Indian Ocean...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0109918 includes discrete sample and profile data collected from METEOR in the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean from 2009-10-26 to...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115022 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from METEOR in the South Atlantic Ocean from 1991-02-10 to 1991-03-23...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0108085 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from METEOR in the North Atlantic Ocean from 2004-03-10 to 2004-04-13...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0108078 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from METEOR in the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean from...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0113584 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from METEOR in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1999-06-10 to 1999-07-09...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115594 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from METEOR in the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean from...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0115684 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from METEOR in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1992-05-09 to 1992-06-02...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0113579 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from METEOR in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1992-03-16 to 1992-04-09...

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC Accession 0113890 includes chemical, discrete sample, physical and profile data collected from METEOR in the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean from...